Rumors
by Enygma001
Summary: Nothing amazing happens in Karakura Town anymore. At least that's what I thought. Rumors spread like wild fire, sometimes we find ourselves on the other side of the flame and sometimes we're igniting the flame ourselves. Is it truly a sin to love a man...
1. Rumors

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

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><p>Rumors<p>

The sun shined, and the birds chirp, just like any other day. Just like any other normal day. But not today. Today was not another day, and I was going to find that out the hard way.

Two years after the war and everything still feels a little bit surreal to me. The only thing that keeps going in an endless cycle would be my studies. After graduating from high school, I decided to go to medical school. Just like my father, but after saving up my own money, I moved out of my dad's house, and moved into an apartment. It's not that far away from college, but I didn't want to bunk with a roommate in a stuffy little room either.

Yup, just like any other day. Nothing that amazing happens; nothing out of the ordinary happens. Well, nothing really can't surprise me that much after everything that me, and my friends have been through. Hollows come, and go, mainly because either I or Ishida come to eliminate the Hollows that come by here. Sometime they don't show up for months, which is a good thing seeing as med school really can get a bit tough. With all those exams, and paper work, no one can afford to miss a day or else you'll be left not knowing what to do. It's not like high school anymore, where you can just ask to go to the nurse's office, or ask to go to the restroom. Nope, here the rules and professors are a bit stricter.

Sometimes I miss being in high school. I miss all those times where I would chokehold Keigo, or when Inoue would try to make us eat one of her weird concoctions that she calls food. But most of all, I miss everything being simple, and… normal. Something, that I never would have expected to have missed, but I can't come to comprehend, as to why this type of stuff was happening. Why would anyone pay any attention to such rumors, and why would anyone become offended by it. There just something's in the world that I would never understand.

Yeah, I'm Ichigo Kurasaki, a Junior Medical College student, age nineteen, orange hair, permanent scowl, on and off substitute Shinigami. All these things would usually make me a target to start up fights around the neighborhood, but for some reason, I've seen to become yesterday's news. Apparently there's a new threat to the student body, no, to the whole Karakura Town. I for one find it disgraceful, and very shameful.

Who would have thought that this town, the town I tried to save, would have become so disgusted about a way a person, a human being lives his, or her life. I would have expected more, but the more I say that to myself, the more I know I'm lying to myself. I still can't wrap my mind around the whole situation. If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me educate you in today's news.

Click.

"This isn't right, why would these kids, these adults act this way. There're polluting our children with their disgusting habits. Someone needs to put a stop to this now! Or we'll stand out here for as long as we need to."

Click.

The only words that stood out to me, and disgusted me was, "polluting," "disgusting habits," and "our children." Do these people really feel this way about what's going around in the world? This isn't the 1800's. Everyone has a right to live their life however they feel suited. No one can tell a person who they can, or who they should be. The thing that bugged me more about that interview was that it was a woman, a mother who was spurting out those words of hatred. And for what? Something, that doesn't involve her at all. Just so she can so call, protect her children from being _polluted_.

That's right, you guessed it, these people believe that their trying to stop a plague from striking a poor defenseless college. They be_lie_ve that their saving the student body, and the town by preaching their truths. I just think they want attention. Right now, even as we speak, their outside that poor college marching around with their shame hanging high above their heads, screaming so that everyone can hear them.

I wish I could say that this was just another ordinary day. But, then I would be lying, to me and to all those in fear of coming out to attend college. Oh, by the way, that poor college I was talking about. Funny story, that's the same college I attend. Ever since this chaos has spurted out, I was yesterday's news. For once I was glad the attention was taken away from me, but now I wish I could just take it back. Because I can take it; because I'm used to it, because I know what's it like to stand out in a crowd. These poor people don't deserve this one bit. They deserve to be able to live out their lives to the fullest, that's the damn reason I would bleed for this town, now, I'm just not sure anymore.

Sometimes after all this started, I would sit in front of that TV and question whether if I should rescue them anymore or just give up, and wait for some Hollow to eat them up. I know that sounds wrong, but some of these people deserve it. I protect Karakura Town for its resilience, it's capability to pick themselves up from the ashes, and make a new. But now I'm starting to see that this town has become prejudice, and unfair. I truly wish that I could do something for all those who are suffering, and who are in fear of their own town. But this isn't something I can just charge into like I usually do. This is none of my business, but I just can let it sit in my conscience, and walk away.

In this town, there are two types of people, just like there are two types of genders, and two different entities. That's the way it needs to be, this status quo can't be unbalanced. Because when you have one rotten apple, many believe that it will rotten the whole lot. I say that's bullshit, since when have I followed the rules, and gone with the flow. Now all these people think that Hell has risen for something someone did. For being _different_, for being who they are.

I grit my teeth when I turn on the damn TV, and notice that the news has the same repeated information of what happened yesterday, and the day before that, the day before that, and the day _before that_. It's an endless cycle of hate, and biasness to all those who just want to be themselves, and be left alone.

Hell, do they really know the meaning of that word? Do they really think just because someone stands out it's the end of the world? No one who marches with their shame high above their heads know the meaning of that word, they just want to pass judgment to all those who try to change their way of life, their _perfect _way of life. They need to open their eyes, and see that their _perfect union_, their _utopia_ is nothing more than a fools dream. If anyone should pass on judgment, it's going to be those who are worthy to risk their lives-no, no one _has_ the right to pass on judgment. It is inhuman for someone to do such a thing, it would take a true monster to be standing outside _my _college, and parade around like it's their new holly ground, and pass of as God himself.

At the same time, I wish I knew what to do. All I can do is just sit back, and grit my teeth at the chaos that has taken over Karakura Town. I've always wanted to save everyone from harm, from any danger that lurks. Sadly, this isn't any normal danger. This is madness, this is judgment placed on the ones who disturbed the _perfect _balance. I truly hope for their safety, and well being.

Right now, I'm just a bystander watching from the outside. I never thought that I would be watching from the inside, out. These things just _happen_, and no one has the right to stop it. That is human nature that is what it means to be human. To be able to steal your destiny right from the hands of faith. Life is a passion; you have to fill up your cup of love, to survive one must fight, so they can win a true pure heart. You have to fight for a single star, survive so you can fight for what you truly believe in. Life is competition; you have to dream to be a true champion. Natural instinct will help you overcome your _rival_. With true honor, and pride inside yourself, never losing your way, but lending your hand out to a someone you truly trust. That is what makes the strongest of hearts beat. I just never thought that I would be overcome.

Yeah, this is Karakura Town, and in this town, everything is about to change. Take a turn for the worst. Either way, we all fall for something that has always been right beside us. We're just too stupid not to see it. I just wish I had seen it coming; it's almost like a punch to the gut. How could such a peaceful town tear down the life of one of their own, the boundaries of life? All, because of a damn rumor, here in Karakura Town, rumors spread like wild fire. I just hope that I don't come out burned, for me, and for him.

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><p><strong>AN: Review, and read!**


	2. Hello and Good Riddance

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

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><p>Hello and Good Riddance<p>

The alarm clock blasts on and off, as Ichigo moves around the inside of the bed sheets, covering his head in an attempt to blur out the noise. When that doesn't work, he sticks out his arm and throws the blaring alarm clock across the room. He growls at realizing what he did. _Great, now I have to but another one. How many is it now that I've destroyed? Five, no, maybe seven, ah, whatever, I lost count after the first dozen._ Pushing the covers away from his body, Ichigo stares up to the ceiling with his usual scowl planted on his face. He sits up and looks over to his nightstand, reaching out to check his cell phone for the time. _Hmm, I have a lot of time left._ He closes back his phone and tosses it back to the nightstand.

He yawns and gets out of bed. "I guess I should start getting ready." He says while standing up and walking over to his drawer to retrieve his clothes. Ichigo walks to the bathroom and turns on the water by turning the knob below the showerhead. Taking off his night clothes, he then walks into the steaming water and closes up the plastic door. Fifteen minutes later, Ichigo comes out dressed and is drying up his hair with the towel.

Ichigo looks over to the small kitchen thinking, _I'll skip on breakfast today, it's not like I'm going to faint or anything._ Walking back into his room, he grabs his phone and places it inside his pants pocket, also retrieving his wallet on the nightstand and his apartment keys, placing them both inside his book bag. His Shinigami badge dangles inside his book bag as it hangs from one of the key chains inside. He closes up his bag and hangs the strap over his shoulder.

Ichigo gets out of the room and moves back into the living room which consists of a small TV and a two person brown couch. He didn't have enough money saved to go buy some luxuries house accessories', he rather save up his money and use it when he really needed it. Taking out his phone from his pocket, he flips it open and checks the time. _Man, I really got up to early today, might as well chill for a while._ Flipping his phone shut, Ichigo walks over to the couch and sits down. He reaches for the control and turns on the TV.

"Miss, why are you protesting over this situation?"

The reporter stretches out his arm with the microphone into the thirty maybe fortyish woman's face. "I'm here because I know what's good from bad and this here is bad."

Click.

"Stupid news, don't they have anything else to cover than some protest gone wild?" Ichigo then tosses the control to the other side of the couch and stands up. He scratches the back of his head making his hair get ruffled up. Giving a small sigh, he puts his hands inside his pants pockets and heads out of the apartment.

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><p><em>Man, does everybody really need all this attention. I mean if they really wanted some, I could go get some hose and start spraying people for the heck of it.<em> He keeps walking down the streets, hands still inside his pants and not once noticing the person behind him.

The stranger lifts up his foot and aims it at the unsuspecting orange head. "Ugh! Hey what's the big i- oh, it's just you." Ichigo rubs his sore butt, as he scowls at the accuser of his abused behind.

Pushing up his glasses as they glare with the sun, the man gives his own scowl back to the orange head. "I've called out your name twice, Kurosaki. Don't blame me if you were off day dreaming again."

Ichigo looks away from the raven head, "yeah, whatever. Like you don's doze off yourself, Ishida." Uryū just walks ahead of Ichigo, ignoring his reply, which in turn ticks him off. He scowls at the back of his head and walks faster to pass him up. Uryū sees this and speeds up his own pace, both walking in front of one another giving each other casual scowls. Until they pick up pace and start running down the street, leaving dust behind and ignoring everything that's in their way.

Uryū sneers at Ichigo. "Get out of my way, Kurosaki!"

Ichigo retorts back. "Get out of my way you stupid Quincy!" As both of them make a left turn, and continue to their destination. Once Ichigo starts to hear some loud noises his pace slows down. Making Uryū slow down his own pace, both have a scowl on their face as they look at their college covered with many protesters blocking the front gate.

Ichigo looks on with disgust on his face and Uryū notices this. "Let's go, Kurosaki." Saying it in a voice slightly above a whisper, but Ichigo doesn't move, as the protestors raise up their signs high above their heads. Which say, "No More Gays!" or say "You'll Go To Hell!"

Ichigo clenched his fist in anger and walked forward a few steps towards the crowd, but before he could take any more steps, he was pulled back by his wrist by Uryū. "What do you think you're doing? You'll only cause more trouble." Ichigo kept his stare on the crowd but gave a small sigh. Uryū grabbed Ichigo's wrist and hauled him off to the back entrance of the school.

Once they made it inside, Uryū was surprised that Ichigo hasn't said a single word since watching the protestors outside. He looked behind him and saw that Ichigo's head was down making his hair cover up his face. "Kurosaki, take it out of your head. It's not something you should get involved in. I'm sure this will all blow over." But instead of calming down the orange head it only made it worse.

Ichigo looked up with his scowl deeper than usual and retorted to Uryū's answer. "Blow over; do you really think this will all blow over, Ishida? Those stupid protestors have been going at it since last month. And for what? For some stupid rumor some punk must have spread about seeing two guys holding hands when they arrived to school!" Ichigo was infuriated, that much Uryū could tell.

He pushed up his glasses and stopped walking, placing his attention towards the angered young man. "I know that this is wrong but we can't go around doing something about it-"

Ichigo interrupted Uryū by screaming. "Why not? Have you've seen this place? If you haven't already noticed there have been about ten students that haven't attended classes since this has started. Not to mention that the few that still come here always have their head low and try to avoid as much eye contact as possible," Ichigo looked to the side with a resentful face, "It's not right for the students to live in fear in the one place they should feel safe."

Uryū kept a straight face and looked around the hallways making sure that nobody was within hearing range. "I know that but you can't expect to save these students by going into Shinigami. It doesn't work that way, you can't charge in carelessly as you do in battles, Kurosaki. Now let's go to class before we end up being late." Ichigo only walked forward in a normal pace acting like he didn't hear Uryū at all. Uryū was just thankful that this didn't take more than five minutes compared to the other times that this has happened.

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><p>When the bell rang signaling for a lunch break, Uryū caught up with Ichigo who at the moment had his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Let's go." Catching Ichigo off guard as the Quincy led him to the roof of the building. When they got there, Ichigo took out a small bento he had prepared for himself. <em>It's not like Yuzu used to make but at least I don't go hungry.<em>

They sat in silence as they ate their lunch; once in a while Ichigo would clench his hand so tight it made the chopstick crack under pressure. Uryū saw this but couldn't figure out anything to say to the orange haired boy. He merely kept to himself, until he decided to start a conversation. "This is kind of familiar, isn't?"

Ichigo looked up and took a moment to think of what Uryū was saying. "Oh, yeah. Just like when we were in high school. We used to eat in the roof while we made Keigo buy us lunches," Ichigo gave Uryū a slight amusement smirk, "wasn't that the only reason you decided to join us the first time I asked you?"

Uryū gave him an amusement smirk also. "Well, he did offer from time to time. It was kind of hard to say no." Uryū looked over to Ichigo and could see that he was staring down to his bento, lost in his own thought while giving a sad smile. "I wonder what everyone is doing now. I hope better than we are."

Uryū let out a small sigh, and pushed up his glasses as they started to slide down. "I'm sure their fine. It may look like things are bad over here, but at least there're some who can turn away from the chaos that has plunged the school. Whenever this stops, it will be because people were able to look pass this so called scandal."

When Uryū finished talking, Ichigo looked over to him and gave him one of his rare smiles. "Yeah, you're probably right. I just hope it comes sooner than later." Uryū looked down to his white watch and stood up. "It's almost time for class again, we better throw these away."

Ichigo got up and followed him still having that smile upon his face. _It's kinda funny that Ishida, who once considered me as his enemy, was consoling me. Even though I know he would try to deny it. He is pretty weird but that's just another thing that makes him a little more like me._

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><p>"Finally, I'm tired as hell." Ichigo stretched his arms over his head as he got out of his seat. Uryū looked over to Ichigo and then began making his way to the exit of the class. Ichigo saw this and made his way to catch up with him.<p>

"Yo, Ishida, where're you going?"

Uryū didn't stop as Ichigo finally caught up with him and walked beside him. "Other than heading home, I can't think of anywhere else I like to go, Kurosaki. Why do you ask?"

Ichigo stuffed his hands inside his pants and looked forward. "Well, I was thinking-"

"You think?"

Ichigo gave out a small growl. "Shut up, I was going to say 'why don't you come over to my place for a while to do our homework together'. But now I don't know if I want to invite you anymore."

"Then don't."

_This guy can be really frustrating sometime, no, scratch that, ALL the times._

Ichigo came out of his thoughts as he felt a slight pain in his side. "Ow, what was that for you freak?"

Uryū stopped walking and looked to Ichigo. "That's for not answering when I said 'sure' to your invitation. Honestly, Kurosaki what has gotten you so lost in your thoughts today?"

Ichigo rubbed his side a couple more times until finally dropping his hands by his sides. Looking away from Uryū as he had his arms crossed over his chest as if expecting an answer to his unusual behavior. "N-nothing. I'm just spacing out, nothing to worry about."

Uryū wasn't convinced as he stared at the orange head that didn't make eye contact with him the whole time he said that. _You're lying through your teeth, Kurosaki. But I already know what's got you acting unusual lately. Because I-_

"Well, come on then. There's no use in standing here, were going to my place and you're going to get the honor of cooking for me."

Uryū's eye twitched as Ichigo started walking away. "What! Since when is it considered an honor to cook for an idiot like yourself?" He began running to catch up to the orange head.

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><p>Ichigo opened the door to his apartment and led Uryū in. Both took off their shoes as they made their way inside. Ichigo dumped his book bag on the couch as Uryū placed his on the floor next to the couch.<p>

Ichigo then sat down on the couch with his arms on both sides of the loveseat. "You probably already know where the kitchen already is, so get to it." He then grabbed at his throbbing head as Uryū threw a book to his head. After that he went to pick it up from the couch. Ichigo looked over to Uryū who had a scowl on his face, matching his own scowl. "What was that for?"

"That's for commanding me to serve you like a maid you idiot!"

_Tch, yeah right, Ishida as a maid? Out of all the stupidest things-_

He then gave it a little more though and soon he felt his face heat up as he thought about Uryū in a small maid outfit serving him and doing everything he commanded.

"_Anything else, Kurosaki-kun?"_

_Ichigo didn't pay attention to all the delicious served dishes on the table as he stared at the black and white looking French maid outfit. It was a two piece and had a lace up on the front. It didn't even go pass his long skinny legs. Instead it reached above his knees that if he bended over to pick something up you would get a clear view of his tight sexy ass-_

"KUROSAKI!"

Knocking him out of his day dream Ichigo looked over to him and responded back to his loud yell. "What?"

Uryū looked irritated and almost looked like he had some slight pink on his cheeks. "What were you day dreaming about?"

_Damn. _He merely looked away. "Nothin'."

Only getting Uryū more flustered with such a simple one word response. "Don't act like that'll work on me? You had drool coming out of your mouth while you stared out into space! Now, I want to know what exactly you were thinking about."

Ichigo looked away from his red tomato face. '_Exactly' what I was thinking about? Um, how about, no way in hell. _Coming out of his thoughts he reached for the remote on the couch. Seeing this, Uryū reached for the control as well, practically above Ichigo as they fought for it.

_I won't be ignored, Kurosaki!_

Struggling for the remote as Uryū at the same time reached for it, Ichigo said, "hey let go! I got it first!"

Uryū kept pushing Ichigo's hands away from trying to get the remote first. "Yeah, well I was here first!"

The remote fell on the floor as both continued to struggle. Neither noticing that the TV turned on when the remote fell on the floor, emitting its light on the two, as they continued to push their faces away from each other with the palms of their hands, until a special report came on the news, making both of the disheveled young men look at the TV. Once they looked back at each other, they quickly untangled and sat on opposite ends of the couch, acting as if nothing happen. Both boys held a slight pink on their cheeks as they crossed their legs and arms.

_Stupid Quincy, but why did I think of something so… strange?_

"Good evening, I'm coming live from a local Karakura park. It seems as if not too long ago, a young man was found here almost beaten to death with what appears to be a bat. No other information as if now." In the background there was blood that could be made out from the camera as it looked around showing the viewing audience of the catastrophe that happened. Ichigo and Uryū's eyes widened when it reached one of the tunnels that was in the park. Leaning on the side of the small gray tunnel was a sign that resembled something those protestors would carry around.

It read. "Good Riddance To Another FREAK!"

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><p><strong>AN: Please review! Criticism is welcomed. **


	3. New Arrangements

**A/N: Thank you:**

**RhavenL**

**CyborgMelody**

**For your reviews! They made my day!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

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><p>New Arrangements<p>

Ichigo clenched his teeth as he watched on the news while Uryū sat on the couch with a frown in his face. The news went on about how two more guys were found injured while coming home from a central market. They were both taken to Karakura Hospital with minor injuries, but still were beaten to half of their life. Ichigo moved to sit on one of the diner chairs, as Uryū went to turn off the T.V.

Ichigo stopped him. "Wait! What are you doing?"

Uryū turned around with a surprised look on the face. "There's no need to keep on watching this, besides it's getting late. I should be heading home now, and you should be going to bed, Kurosaki."

Ichigo frowned but stood up from the chair. "Tch, what are you my mother?" But when he looked outside, he could see that it was already dark. He turned to look over to Uryū, and saw that he was packing up his bag. For some strange reason he didn't want the archer to leave yet. "Stay."

Uryū stopped his packing, and looked over to Ichigo. "What? Did you say something, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo merely placed it as concern of not wanting him to leave yet. _Yeah, that's it._ He rubbed the back of his head as he repeated, "stay. It's dark outside and I can sleep on the couch-"

"No. Do you really think I can't take care-"

"That's not the point damn it! Look its late so why not stay."

Ichigo looked unsteady as he blurted all that out. _These damn fights and protest are starting to get to me. _Uryū took this into consideration and decided that he should stay, for now.

He pushed up his glasses and looked over to Ichigo. "Fine, but I'll take the couch." Ichigo was about to retort something but before he could, the siren of an ambulance stopped him. They both walked over to the small flat that was closed off by the glass door. Ichigo slid open the door and looked to where the ambulance was going. It was headed down the hospital owned by Uryū's father.

_Why is this happening? And why do-_

Ichigo was pulled away from his thoughts as Uryū grabbed him from his shirt and pulled him back inside the apartment. "Bed, Kurosaki." Uryū pushed him into his room and shut the door.

Ichigo was dumfounded at what just happened. "Wait, did he just shove me in my own room. That guy is so weird." He walked over to his bed and fell on it in exhaustion, placing his arms behind his head to support it. _Something really must be wrong with me if I just told Ishida to stay here. I mean inviting him over is one thing, but asking him to stay is a whole other thing. _Ichigo closed his eyes and felt himself drift away. _Maybe I'm overreacting because Ishida is the only person that is still around. After the war and everything beginning to settle down back to normal, I haven't seen or heard from any other of the Shinigami. After high school ended Chad decided to go on the road with his band group. While as Inoue, Keigo, Mizuiro, and Tatsuki decided to go to Tokyo University. Yeah, Ishida and I decided to go to med school, it felt like the simplest thing to do. Now, he's the only person that's constantly in my life. I rarely go home and it feels like an eternity since I've tried Yuzu's food. _

Ichigo turned to his side and laid his head over his arm, softy whispering something as he drifted in to his dreams. "Ishida."

On the other side of the door the bespectacled young man wasn't sleeping like the orange head in the other room. Instead he was watching the news as it went on through after hours of the night. The glow of the T.V. reflected on his glasses, as he tried to settle down with a blanket he had just found in a cupboard. _I wonder why Kurosaki is so angered about these protest and attacks. Probably because he doesn't like seeing people hurt. Or maybe it's because-_

Uryū shook his head from those types of thoughts. _Of course not he's just worried like any other sensible person would; I really need to get some sleep._ He lies back down on the couch, turns off the T.V. and takes off his glasses, placing them on the floor.

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><p>Ichigo's eyes flutter open as he smells something coming from the living room. <em>Hmm, whatever it is, it sure does smell good. <em>Ichigo sits up, and opens up his cell phone he had charging on his nightstand. _Holy shit! It's late!_ Ichigo quickly gets out of bed and rushes out of his room.

"Ishida, why didn't you-"

Ichigo stops himself as he sees Uryū cooking breakfast for both of them. "Uh, you do know that it's getting late, right?"

Uryū doesn't turn around to face him. "Then why aren't you ready, Kurosaki?" Ichigo only growls and returns back into his room to change, leaving a smirking Quincy to himself as he continues to cook. _I wonder how long it will take him to realize it._

A couple minutes later. "ISHIDA!"

Ichigo came out of his room already dressed with a deep scowl on his face. "You knew that we didn't have school today didn't you?"

Uryū pushed his glasses up after he placed a plate filled with food on the table. "It's not my fault you forgot, Kurosaki."

Ichigo growled but then looked down at the food placed on the table. _I'll yell at him later, why pass up on some home cooked meal?_

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><p>Ichigo and Uryū finished their breakfast, placing their plates on the sink. Ichigo moved to go sit on the couch while as Uryū turned on the water and began washing the dirty dishes. Ichigo looked over the couch to see Uryū washing the dishes. "Hey, you don't have to do that you know. I've could have done that later."<p>

Uryū finished washing the dishes and turned off the water, grabbing a rag from the counter, he began to dry his wet hands. "True, but who knows when that would be." Placing the rag back down, Uryū moved to sit at the other end of the couch. Both sat in silence as they watched the news. Ichigo would occasionally ask random questions and Uryū would retort with some sort of insult.

Ichigo stood up and scratched the back of his head. "I'm going to the market." He walked to get his keys from his room and placed them in his pocket. When he returned back into the living room, Uryū was placing on his shoes.

Ichigo was surprised at seeing him do this. "You know, you don't have-"

"It's very rude of you to not ask someone to accompany you, Kurosaki. But I don't expect much from you anyway."

Ichigo sneered at him, "whatever. If you're comin' then hurry up." Ichigo walked out of the room with Uryū walking behind him. The whole way outside of the apartment they didn't speak. Ichigo casually glanced around his surroundings as he spotted some random punks hanging around the park, carrying bats or metal poles in their hands. He stopped walking and began walking towards the punks with the bad hairstyles.

Uryū saw this and moved towards Ichigo. "Kurosaki wait."

Ichigo ignored him and kept on walking towards them. Once he was close enough, the punks took notice of him, and stood up from their sitting position. "Who the hell are you? You lookin' for some trouble punk?"

Ichigo sneered and his scowl deepened. "What's your first clue, Mohawk?"

The guy with the mohawk frowned. "What you say? That's it! You're goin' down-ahhh!" Before he could finish talking, Ichigo had punched the guy straight in the jaw sending him flying. The other two looked on as their friend was send off flying. They looked back at Ichigo with terrified faces.

Ichigo cracked his knuckles and looked at the remaining two. "Now do you want to follow his example!"

The two screamed in fear and dropped their weapons as they ran away from the scene. Ichigo relaxed his posture but was caught off guard as a he felt a foot kick him from behind, making him fall to his knees. He turned around and saw who did it.

Scowling once again he began yelling at Uryū. "What the hell was that for?"

Uryū scowled back, raising his voice. "That was for being an idiot, Kurosaki! You should know that you can't be going off and attacking random people, especially if you're trying to become a doctor. Use your head!"

When they calmed down, Ichigo and Uryū continued their walk to the market. When they arrived to the market, Uryū went to grab a basket to place all the things they were getting. Uryū looked over to Ichigo. "By the way, what did you come here to get?"

Ichigo began walking around the isles, "huh, oh just some milk, maybe some bread." Ichigo stopped talking to see Uryū's face. "What's up with you?"

Uryū's eyebrow was twitching. "'What's up' is that you have no sense of knowing how to cook a real meal, Kurosaki. No wonder I could only find enough ingredients for two eggs and some bread to toast."

Ichigo looked irritated, "shut up, I cook well enough to not starve. Now, let's just get what- hey where are you going."

Walking away Uryū said, "to get some real food." Ichigo looked on as he made a turn to the dairy isle. _Jeez, what's his problem? Wait a minute-he doesn't know what kind of milk I like!_ Coming out of his thoughts, Ichigo quickly hurried to catch up to Uryū. "Hey, Ishida, you don't know what kinda milk I like! Hold up!"

After thirty minutes of shopping, they now stood outside of the store with both their hands filled with bags. Ichigo looked down at their bags. "Did we really need all this stuff? I don't even know how to cook half this stuff."

"Then I guess this is a good time for you to start learning, Kurosaki."

Ichigo frowned at the Quincy as he started walking away. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" He caught up with the Quincy, who looked as if he was deep in thought. "Ishida, what are you thinking about?"

Uryū stopped his walking and looked down, having his bangs covering up his face. "Kurosaki, I-I."

But whatever he was going to say was interrupted by someone calling Ichigo out. "Hey, are you the guy who threaten my boys!"

Ichigo turns around to see five guys with weapons in their hands. "Who the hell are you?"

A fat bald guy with a bat over his shoulder stepped up. "I'm the guy who's gonna make ya pay! Get'm boys!" The guys behind the bald guy ran up to attack Ichigo.

"Damn." Ichigo dropped the bags to the floor and punched the first guy that came close to him. Then a guy went flying past him, Ichigo turned around to see that Uryū was the one who kicked the guy.

The fat bald guy frowned at seeing one of his own being thrown off by a guy in glasses. "So your helpin' him, huh? Fine then, we'll kick your ass-ughhh!"

Ichigo took this time as the fat guy was talking to punch him and send him flying backwards. The remaining guys were taken care of by Uryū. "Ah, let's get going before more of these guys show up."

Ichigo and Uryū retrieved their bags from the floor, continuing to Ichigo's apartment. When they arrived to his apartment, the first thing they did was to put away all of the food. Once they finished they took a seat on the couch.

Ichigo sighed, "damn. That took longer than I expected," he then looked over to Uryū, "oh, yeah. Didn't you want to tell me something before we got interrupted?"

Uryū looked away from him, trying to think of something to make up, but in the end decided to tell him the truth. Looking back at Ichigo, "I wanted to say that I-I. What would you think if I could spend some more time here?"

Ichigo looked bewildered at his question. "Not much, I really don't care if you stay a couple more hours-"

"Not like that, Kurosaki."

Ichigo frowned, not understanding what Uryū was trying to say. "Then what did you mean, Ishida. If you got something to say then just come out and say it."

Uryū looked down to the floor, placing his hands on his knees. "What I'm trying to say is that I need some place to stay at by tomorrow or I'll be kicked out of my home."

"What? Why would they kick you out?"

Uryū clenched his hands on his pants. "Because I wasn't able to pay the rent since last month."

Ichigo was shocked at what he heard. "But why? I mean don't you pay the rent with your money?"

Uryū had his bangs covering up his face. "Actually, it's Ryūken who's the one that sends me money to pay for the rent. I only use my money to buy food and other necessities."

Ichigo knew Uryū well enough to know that he was referring to his father. "Why hasn't he been sending you any money for the rent then?"

Uryū whispered, "I don't know."

After a whole minute of silence, Ichigo stood up, and headed for the door. "Hey, Ishida hurry up will ya?"

Uryū looked up to see that Ichigo was at the front door. "Why?"

Ichigo looked over his shoulder to stare at him. "What kinda question is that? To bring your stuff over here, that's why. Now hurry up before it gets late."

Uryū was surprised that Ichigo would actually let him stay at his apartment. "Fine, but don't touch any of my things that I tell you not to touch."

"Tch, whatever."

* * *

><p>Ichigo looked around Uryū's apartment. "So, this is where you live-well used to live."<p>

"Shut up."

Uryū went into his room and retrieved a blue traveling bag from his closet. _This is going to take some time._ He began placing the little of clothes he had in his closet and folded it neatly into the bag, while as Ichigo was retrieving all of his sewing kit and was placing it on top of his dinner table.

Once Uryū was finished in placing all his clothes inside the bag, he moved over to the dinner table in where all his sewing supplies were settled down. He placed his sewing machine carefully on top of his clothes, and began placing his other supplied sewing kit inside. He was done with that, and looked around the room for anything else he needed to retrieve.

Ichigo was sitting down on his couch as Uryū was still looking around the room. "Hey, are you done, Ishida? Or do you have more shit to pack up."

Uryū frowned at him. "Shut up, Kurosaki! Anyway, yes, I believe that's all I need."

Ichigo stood up and looked at Uryū's bag. "Do you really still sew stuff?"

Uryū looked offended. "Of course I do! Why do you ask such a stupid question?"

_Great, he still sews so that means he'll be sewing even after he moves away from here. _Ichigo placed his hands up. "Just wondering, I've never really seen you sew all your crap so it's going to be weird if you still do."

Uryū pushed his glasses up. "Shut up. Now let's go, it's starting to get late."

With that said, Ichigo and Uryū headed out of his small complex. Ichigo told him that he was going to carry his bag, which Uryū told him he could carry his own stuff. Ichigo just ignored him as he hauled the Quincy's bag from the dinner table.

* * *

><p>"Now, how are we going to do this?"<p>

Ichigo looked over to Uryū as he talked to himself. "What are you mumbling about?"

Uryū looked around Ichigo's apartment, finally taking notice of everything around him. "I'm talking about, how this arrangement is going to work. I know you had Kuchiki-san stay in your closet, but I'll kick your ass before you try to stuff me in one of yours." Saying it menacing as his glasses caught the ray of the sun making them glare.

Ichigo looked away from him, _don't you already kick my ass, you jack ass._ "I wasn't going to do that, besides you're a little too big for it anyway." Mumbling the last part to himself as he walked away.

Ichigo looked inside his room and began looking around. _Well, he could stay here and I could take the couch, but he'll probably be against that. _He walked back into the living room as he saw the Quincy taking out his clothes and other sewing supplies. "You can take the room while I take the couch."

Uryū pushed his glasses up. "No, thank you, I don't want to take you out of your own room, I'll take the couch. Just where am I supposed to stash all of my things?"

_He does have a point. _"Well, my closet is big enough to have your clothes in there and you can put your sewing crap inside the cupboard."

Uryū looked as he was about to retort something but instead began placing his sewing supplies inside the cupboard, while Ichigo took the neatly folded clothes to his room to place it inside of his closet.

Once they were done with settling the Quincy's clothes and other necessities, both their stomachs began to ask for attention. Uryū looked away embarrassed and made his way into the small kitchen. "I'll go make something to eat." That being said, Ichigo moved to sit down on front of the T.V. and turned it on to some weird game show as he waited for food to be ready.

_This is so weird, is Ishida really making dinner? It's really different from me making some ramen for dinner, but now Ishida is actually making some home cooked meal. I wonder what he's making, it sure smells good. _Ichigo sniffed a little bit longer and decided whatever it was; it was going to leave him drooling.

"Kurosaki, foods ready!"

Ichigo turned away from the T.V. and walked into the kitchen. Uryū had served miso soup into one of the bowls and had served another plate with what looked like kare raisu. Ichigo was astounded at what Uryū could have cooked up. "Wow! This looks really good." Ichigo took his plate and settled down on the dinner table. Not noticing that Uryū had a small blush going across his cheek after the complement.

Uryū took his own plate and sat down across from Ichigo. They both said, "itadakimasu." And began eating their meal.

Once they were done, they both took their plates and settled them down into the sink before Uryū could begin washing the dishes. Ichigo stopped him by moving in front of the sink. "I got it besides you already washed the dishes in the morning." Uryū looked surprised at Ichigo's generosity and merely moved into the living room as Ichigo began washing the dishes.

Uryū plopped himself down into the couch and let himself drift off into his thoughts. _That's awfully considerate of Kurosaki. Maybe he's trying to be nice because he doesn't want me to handle all the chores around the house and would rather split them up. That would be a lot of help if this works between us, hopefully._ Coming out of his thoughts the moment Ichigo came to sit at the end of the couch watching T.V. with Uryū, made Uryū become startled.

Uryū looked over to Ichigo as he sat Indian styled on the couch. "So, you think this could work, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo thought about it for a moment and said, "nah, but we can make it work, with a bit of effort anything is possible, right?"

Uryū smiled at the response. "Yeah."

Ichigo gave one of his rare smiles as a reply and turned back to the T.V. _Yeah, this new arrangement can definitely work between us._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **

**Miso Soup: is a bowl that accompanies breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is made by dissolving miso paste in hot water and adding additional ingredients such as wakame seaweed and small pieces of tofu.**

**Kare Raisu: is curry rice, cooked rice with curry sauce.**

**Itadakimasu: "I gratefully receive" is said before eating.**

**Please leave a review, they make my day and make me write more, knowing that you want me to continue!**


	4. Confession

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

* * *

><p>Confession<p>

_One week, has it even been one week? Damn, that's too long but it feels more like a year. Why did I have to give up my sanity for being the nice guy?_

"KUROSAKI!"

Ichigo flipped over to have his face deep into the bed with the pillow he was using as a barrier to block out all sound. _Damn! Does he really need to scream this early in the morning? He's worst than Rukia!_

Uryū walks into Ichigo's room and scowls as he sees him covering up his face with a pillow. Uryū has already dressed and done the whole morning routine, but Ichigo has yet to get up from bed. _That will have to change._

Uryū looks coldly at Ichigo's form. "Kurosaki, hurry up will you or will be late for class!"

Uryū waited for Ichigo to move on his own, but only heard some mumbled out words since he still had the pillow covering up his face. "What was that, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo moved the pillow and turned around to look at Uryū straight in the eyes. Scowl firmly placed as he said, "go to hell!"

Uryū's eyebrow twitched and he gave him a menacing look; he pushed his glasses up, and began walking forward. Ichigo saw this and had a terrified look on his face. "Well, then I guess you'll have to join me, Kurosaki." He lunged forward and began pulling off the bed sheets from Ichigo's body.

"Agh! Let go!" Ichigo fought back to keep the sheets covering him up, and soon it looked like they were having a tug a war. Both, not wanting to let up, until the bed sheets started to rip from the strain being placed on it.

Ichigo looked at the half that ripped off and Uryū looked at the half he had ripped off. Uryū merely tossed his piece to the side; while Ichigo had his mouth gaped at seeing his one and only bed sheet ripped to pieces.

"You bastard! You ripped up my only bed sheet I had!" Ichigo said accusingly.

Uryū placed one hand on his hip, not offended at all. "You also pulled the bed sheet as I was trying to get it off, that means you were in fault as well, Kurosaki." That being said, he left the room. "But don't' worry Kurosaki, I'll make sure to make you a new one." He called from the living room.

"What!" Ichigo could practically see that he said those words with that evil smirk on his face. _The hell you will! There is no way I'm going to be sleeping with some weird Quincy marked bed sheets!_

Thirty minutes later, after that quarrel, Ichigo was already dressed and had his things ready to go. When he moved into the living room, Uryū scared him as he popped out of nowhere from behind him. Uryū had his arms outstretched with a white folded comforter in his arms. "Here you go, Kurosaki."

Ichigo still tried to catch his breath from the shock he got, but then he looked down at the white comforter Uryū had in his arms. "What's this?"

"It's the new bed sheets I made you."

Ichigo looked at the thing with a scowl. "Let me guess it has that damn cross on it, doesn't it?"

Uryū smirked at his reply. "What made you guess that?" Then he tossed it at Ichigo who easily caught it.

He unfolded the bed sheets, and his eyes widened at the huge blue cross on it. "See, I knew you would-"

"Hurry up or we're going to be late!" Uryū said as he stood at the door, carrying his book bag securely over his shoulder.

Ichigo just growled and folded the sheets back up, and tossed it to the couch, shoving his hands into his pockets as he walked over to Uryū. Uryū closed the door once Ichigo exited, and placed the key in his pants.

Both walked silently all the way to school, until something caught Uryū's eye the moment they had exited the apartment, he looked to the side and saw a shadow behind a building. _People have been watching us exit together since I have moved in with, Kurosaki. And some have even begun to follow us. Do they really think that-_

"Oi, Ishida."

Uryū came out of his thoughts and looked over to Ichigo. "What?"

"What are you looking at?"

Uryū looked surprised, _I see, so he hasn't noticed yet. _"Nothing, I was just wondering if I forgot something."

"Tch, idiot."

After that they made their way to school and went inside using the back door. Since the front seemed to be occupied by protestors who refused to leave. They have been using the back door ever since the protestors began showing up, which wasn't too long ago. If anybody passed by the front gate, the protestors would stop you and ask you, "rejoice my brothers! Show your support and stand out here with your holly brethrens!"

Ichigo and Uryū got used to it by now, but they still had a scowl on their face every time they passed by the front gate. Once they found their class, they forgot about the world outside, and tried to pay attention to the lesson at hand.

* * *

><p>The bell ranged and all the students in the class began heading out. Ichigo was packing up his bag until he saw something from outside the window. His normal scowl deepened as he saw two punks beating up a local guy outside the school. He left his bag, and ran out of the class, passing a confused Uryū.<p>

"Kurosaki?" He went to grab Ichigo's forgotten bag, and then looked out the same window he was looking out. _That idiot! He can't seriously be doing what I think he's going to do!_ Then he saw Ichigo show up, and punched both guys right on the face, knocking them unconscious.

"Idiot!" He quickly ran outside to warn Ichigo before it was too late. _What is he thinking? We're outside a school in which there is a rally of protestors just waiting to jump on you! I have to hurry!_

Ichigo looked at the frightened guy on the floor who had his arms covering his face up. He walked over to the frightened guy, and extended his arm. "Here, I'm not going to hurt ya."

The guy looked at the arm doubtfully but carefully took it, still not completely comfortable with the help he was getting from a complete stranger. He stood up and looked at Ichigo. "Why did you help me? Aren't you against all gays?"

Ichigo was surprised at his reply. "I-"

Before he could finish, Uryū came running towards him, and hauled him off by the wrist. "Oi! What are you doing, Ishida?"

Uryū kept on running until he made a turn on a corner, he then let go of Ichigo's wrist. "Shut up. Now, look." He said pointing to the location they were once in.

Ichigo looked towards where Uryū was pointing to, and saw that the guy he had rescued quickly left the moment people from the front gate started getting closer. The protestors looked around to see what caused any harm to their loyal followers.

"What the fuck?"

"See, if you try to get attention, those protestors will surround you like a pack of wolves."

Ichigo clenched his hand into a tight fist at the scene he was watching. "Who do they think they are?"

Uryū sighed, "let's just head back. We don't want them to go looking around until they find the culprit."

Uryū began walking, as Ichigo still looked on to the scene, reluctantly he turned around and followed Uryū back to his apartment. _Is no one safe from those mentally ill people anymore!_

* * *

><p>Ichigo came out of the shower with his towel drying off his hair, as his clothes cling to his body due to the wetness. "Hey, Ishida you can use the shower if you want now!"<p>

He waited but he didn't hear a reply. "Ishida?"

Ichigo walked into the living room and didn't find him there. _Where could that Quincy be at? _Ichigo felt a breeze and looked to the side. The glass door that led to the porch outside was open, he walked towards it and pushed away the curtains, (that Uryū had made) to see that Uryū was leaning on the railing.

He gave Uryū a concerned look. "Hey, are you okay?"

Uryū was surprised at hearing Ichigo, having been lost in his own thoughts he didn't even realize he was right behind him. He turned his head around and looked at him. "Yeah, just thinking."

Ichigo moved to stand behind him with a hand placed on his waist. "Thinking? About what, you're always thinking, Ishida."

Uryū chucked and shook his head. "Nothing, now if you excuse me, I'm going to take a shower now."

Ichigo watched him as he disappeared into the bathroom. _I know you to well, Ishida. I also know that something is bothering you. I just don't know what._ Ichigo grabbed his towel from his neck and began running it through his hair.

Inside the bathroom stood Uryū in the shower, naked as the water crashed down on him, he had a clenched fist on the wall while his palm was placed on the tiles of the shower's wall. He had a scowl as he thought about what happened early today. _I can't believe those vultures would try to hurt someone without listening to reason. Also, many people have been watching as Kurosaki, and I head out to school. Do they really think where some sort of couple? If that's the case, I should really bring this up to Kurosaki. And maybe I should tell him- NO! I can't, if I do he'll probably hate me, and want to throw me out. But maybe that's a good thing, its better if he throws me out rather than having been falsely accused of something that never happened. Yes, that's what I'll do._

Uryū finished his shower, and turned off the water. He quickly got dressed and began preparing himself for what was about to occur. He breathed in, _it's now or never._ He walked out of the bathroom and saw that Ichigo was seated on the couch watching a game show. He walked up to the couch until he was right behind it. "Kurosaki?"

Ichigo looked over his shoulder and saw that Uryū had some sort of sad look on his face. "What?"

Uryū opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out, he closed it and looked to the side. He took a quick breath in and moved to stand in front of Ichigo, looking determined to get this out of his chest. "Kurosaki, I have something I must tell you."

Ichigo knew that he was being serious, he got up and brought the only two chairs from the dinner table into the living room, giving Uryū one so he could settle in. Once he sat in his own chair, Ichigo crossed his arms over his chest, waiting patiently for Uryū to speak up.

Uryū sat down, and pushed his glasses up. "Kurosaki, lately I've been noticing people watch us when we leave to go to school."

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "So? That's common, many people always stare at me-"

Uryū shook his head. "Not like that, I've noticed it happen since the day I moved in here with you," Uryū looked down at his clenched fists on his knees, "maybe it's best if you kick me out." Uryū waited for a response, but when he didn't get one, he looked up and saw that Ichigo didn't seem faced.

Ichigo looked at him carefully. "There's more, isn't there, Ishida?"

Uryū's eyes widened for a moment then he composed himself again, pushing his glasses up once more. "I-well, I-"

"You don't have to tell me. Whatever it is I'm sure it's nothing."

Uryū furrowed his eyebrows as he stared down to the floor. Determined once more, he looked up and looked straight at Ichigo. "No! It's not 'nothing' Kurosaki! I-I need to tell you," he looked to the side with a pained expression, "it's been eating at me not being able to tell anyone."

Ichigo raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Not being able to tell what?"

Uryū tried to raise his head back up, but he felt as if something was holding him down. He kept his head down and let his bangs cover up his face; he softly whispered his confession to the floor.

"Huh? Sorry I didn't catch that. What-"

Uryū finally raised his head up and looked directly at Ichigo with a scowl on his face. "I said I'm gay!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I had some time today, and decided to write this piece out.**

**Please leave a review!**


	5. Tree of Truth

**A/N: Thanks to:**

**YaoiFanGurl2667**

**RhavenL**

**For reviewing!**

**Don't own Bleach.**

* * *

><p>Tree of Truth<p>

_What?_

Ichigo stared at Uryū for like a couple of minutes with his mouth gaped opened, not knowing what to say to the now reveled Uryū. _I-I never thought-I mean yeah he sews and stuff, but him li-liking _guys_! Now that's a whole other ball game! Wait, why is he shaking? Shit! I'm still staring at him without saying something. But what can I say?_

Ichigo cleared his throat, and opened his mouth to speak but no words could come out. Uryū seeing that he was not getting any response from the bewildered man decided to do the only thing that came to mind: leave.

Uryū ran out of the apartment while Ichigo still tried to comprehend what happened. Ichigo came out of his trance, and noticed that Uryū was nowhere in the apartment. _Damn! How could I be so stupid! I just stood there while Ishida was opening up something very important to me, and I just shut down. I know we usually fight, but talk about insensitive, I know I should follow him. But I think what he really needs is some time alone. So do I._

Ichigo sits back down in the chair, and places his arms over his knees as his head hangs low. Trying to figure out what he should say after the Quincy comes back, or what not to say to not try to be insensitive and make him feel insecure about his sexuality.

* * *

><p>Uryū kept on running with no location in mind; all he knew is that he needed to get away from the Shinigami. Not once stopping even though he ran far enough, and could not feel Ichigo's reiatsu following him. Once he came to a halt, he placed his hands on his knees as he was crouched down, tired from all that running. Heaving as he tried to catch his breath, but more from actually telling someone his biggest secret. <em>I-I can't believe I actually-I'm so stupid! Of course he wouldn't accept it. What were you thinking, Ishida? That he would be comfortable with your sexuality, and be as if nothing ever happened, yeah right.<em>

Uryū slammed his fists on his knees. "DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!" With each scream, he slammed his fists over and over again to his knees. After exerting his rage, he fell to his knees, and looked down at the ground with a pained expression. His palms were place over the soft dirt until he made them both into fists once again, scooping up the dirt as he closed them up.

He panted trying to calm down, and regain his composure once again. Once he had some control of his breath, he looked up from the ground and saw that he was in a park. It had one single tree in the middle while everything else were nothing more than swings, and a slide for children to play in. Seeing the location before him only made him cringe at his thoughts. _A park, a place where _normal _people would bring their child to play in, making the perfect _normal _family anyone would expect of everyone in this world. But I'm not _normal_, I've never have been _normal_ in my entire life. Take away my powers, but still I won't be considered _normal_. Kurosaki must think I'm a freak now. Who knows; maybe one day Kurosaki will bring his child here with his… wife. A _normal_ perfect family._

Caught in his thoughts, Uryū didn't once notice that someone was watching him, as the man stood upon the tall tree. Gazing down with forest green eyes, judging the Quincy from where he stood. The man narrowed his eyes at the raven head, and gently placed his palm on the tree. Sending a signal to the tree, making it give out a small pulse, still oblivious to the Quincy, as he kept to himself, and was still on his knees.

The man glanced at the sky and could see that a storm was coming. He smiled at the rare occurrence. He looked back down, and could see that the raven head was still berating himself in his own misery. _Do not fret anymore; I shall put you out of your misery once and for all, Quincy. _The man smirked at not being noticed and quietly hid inside the branches of the tree.

The tree itself began to shake, and the wind started to pick up, sending the leaves and the tree branches into a wild dance. The man looked around as the tree also judged the young Quincy. _I see, even the tree knows of your sin. Then I shall take the initiative, and be rid of such a sinner to this world. _

Uryū finally looked around him after noticing that the wind wasn't as normal as he first thought. He looked up, and saw how the tree swayed with the wind. He frowned at the clouds coming together to show that it was going to pour. _Something is not right. What is this feeling? It's almost as if someone was watching me, judging me. But who, I don't sense anything out of the ordinary-_

A tree root came out of the ground and raised high, coming down with pure strength and intent to kill. Uryū quickly saw this, and jumped out of the way just in time. He looked around to see anybody but all he could see was a tree, still swaying in the wind. _What is going on? I-there!_ Uryū looked up at the tree and could feel a faint reiatsu coming out of the tree. _Someone must be sending reiatsu into this tree, making it act to their will._

Uryū dodged another root that came out of the ground; he flipped backwards, and was about to summon his bow but another tree root came out at him. Uryū's eyes widened and dodged a blow that was aimed at his arm. Now the tree was emitting a small reiatsu almost trying to remain hidden so that no one could be able to sense it. He saw that the tree has now summoned about ten roots from the ground, and was waving them crazy in the air. More were coming out every time he felt a small pulse emitting from the tree.

Uryū tried once more to summon his bow but he was caught off guard as one of the roots came out and whipped him at his side, sending him flying to the right and onto the ground rolling on it. Uryū tried to get back to his feet, but another root came down and slammed all its force onto his back. He screamed in agony pain when it landed on his back. Small roots came out of the floor and wrapped around his wrist, and ankles, trying to keep him in place so he could no longer escape.

Uryū had a small gash of blood coming down from his forehead, as he struggled to break free from his bindings. There was no use, and soon the roots of the tree began to grow thorns, cutting up Uryū's wrist and ankles. "AHHHH!"

"Heh, scream all you want. No one is coming to save you, Quincy. All sinners must go through judgment before they can be set free, and burn in Hell where they belong." The unknown man smirked every time the raven head screamed in agony. His forest green eyes flexing every time blood would gush out from his body as he was unceremoniously whipped.

_I-I can't move my body! How could I not see this coming? I was to-ugh- caught up in my own thoughts! Ahh! Now I'm being whipped like some damn slave!_ Uryū felt he was close to losing consciousness.

The man saw that he was almost finished, and decided that now would be the best time to come out. The man came out of his hiding from within the tree and walked to a branch that was hanging out. Becoming noticed as the moon shined upon his entrance, as his hands were neatly crossed behind his back. He looked down upon the whipped boy, staring at him with his cold eyes. "Boy, listen to my words if you are still conscious. My name is Mikio the trunk of this tree, and the man who shall set you free from your sin."

Uryū was flat on the ground, trying to comprehend what the man was saying, but his eyes lost their sapphire color becoming a dark black. His back was completely ripped away as he could feel the sting every time the roots made contact with his flesh. He had lost any movement from his wrist and legs after the thorns had cut through his flesh as well. _This… is… it. I-I… never had… the… chance to… tell… Kurosaki… Ichigo…_

The man raised his hand up to the air, the trees root moving with his motion. "Now, you die!" He brought his hand down, and the root followed his movement coming down with full force. Uryū was far from being able to do anything now, and waited for the impact to come end his life.

But it never came. Instead the root fell to the ground sliced in two. There in the light of the shining moon stood Ichigo with Zangetsu perched over his shoulder, shining with glint at finally being able to save his friend.

The man above the tree was astonished at the sight before him. "A Shinigami? What is he doing here?" The man saw that the orange head boy was slicing up his tree roots without a second thought, without hesitation. Almost as if he was driven by his rage to cut through every single root that caused his 'friend' any harm. _How pathetic, in any case I must report this back to Leader._

Ichigo was slicing up any root that came near Uryū's body without hesitation, filled with rage of not being able to come in time to save Uryū only made him more enraged. "Ahhh! Damn roots! I'll cut every single one of you if it's the last thing I do!"

Mikio analyzed how the Shinigami was just swatting away his roots. He looked over to the boy that was still trapped within his roots thorns. Opening his palm, he slowly started closing it, the root closing around Uryū squeezing more blood from his already bloody form. _I'll get rid of the Quincy while that Shinigami is distracted-what!_

Before his eyes was the Shinigami. He saw how he held his long sword with one hand and was coming down to slice him where he stood. _Damn!_

Mikio was barely able to dodge the attack; he jumped to the highest peak of the tree, only to see that the Shinigami was right before his eyes. Glaring at him with a scowl placed firmly on his face. He brought his sword up and jumped to aim right through his body. He dodged only to see that the Shinigami kept his attack going. _Wait, he wasn't aiming at me, he was aiming at the tree!_

Ichigo jumped high into the air, and brought down Zangetsu on the tree, cutting it down right through the middle. He landed on to the ground once he had slashed the tree in half. Mikio stood in the air as he watched his tree go down.

Mikio had an angered scowl as the Shinigami stared at him with his own scowl. Ichigo walked over to Uryū not once taking his eyes away from the man in the air. Ichigo kneeled down to him, and began slicing up the thorns that held him down. Once Uryū was set free from his bounds, Ichigo looked to the man in the air once more.

"Who the hell are you?"

Mikio brought out his palm and the tree began moving to his command. The tree started glowing and it began to come to his palm, rapidly charging him only to be sucked into his palm. Turning into a seed once it was completely back into his possession. He held the seed in his index and thumb then carefully placing it inside his coat.

Ichigo was not amused. "Hey! I asked you a damn question!"

Mikio smiled at his impatient nature. "My, my, aren't you full of questions, Shinigami. But to answer it, my name is Mikio, and this," he gestured to the destruction that his tree did, "is my Naoki tree. I was sent here to eliminate that Quincy right there." Pointing with his index finger to the bloodied form of Uryū.

Ichigo looked over to Uryū then back to Mikio. "Eliminate this! Getsuga Tenshō!"

Mikio's eyes widened at the strength of his attack. But right before it could make contact, he dodged, but with his right cheek scarred. "Not bad, but another time." He quickly left the premises. Leaving a dumfounded Ichigo panting.

Ichigo clenched his fist over the hilt of his sword. "That coward! Where the hell-"

"Ku… ro… sa… ki…"

This caught Ichigo's attention as he turned around and fell to his knees to be by Uryū's side. "Ishida don't speak! Conserve your energy. Don't worry; I'm going to take you to get healed." Ichigo placed his sword behind his back, so he could pick up Uryū bridal style in his arms.

Uryū was bleeding all over and was staining Ichigo, but that was the least of their worries. Uryū panted, and looked over to face Ichigo. "Tha… nk… you…" He then fell unconscious.

Ichigo watched as Uryū slid into unconsciousness, he had a despair look on his face as he stared at his form. "Never again, Uryū. I'll never let you go." With that promise being said, and the moon being their beholder, he quickly shunpo away from the destroyed park, and then it began to rain.

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><p><strong>AN: Meaning of Words:**

**Mikio: Tree trunk man.**

**Naoki: Honest tree.**

**Please review!**


	6. I Don't Hate You

**A/N: Thanks to:**

**Haddrell**

**RhavenL**

**Yitani East**

**For reviewing!**

**Don't own Bleach.**

* * *

><p>I Don't Hate You<p>

Ichigo leaned on a wall as he watched the young Quincy sleep after he was bandaged up. Uryū was lying on a small cushioned bed on the floor without a shirt after it had been all ripped up. Bandages were wrapped around his torso; they were also wrapped around both his wrist, and ankles. Ichigo had been careful not to cause him any pain as he carefully bandaged up all his wounds. He crossed his arms, and let out a sigh, closing his eyes.

"How is he?"

Ichigo opened his eyes and stared at the new guest that entered the room. "He's still asleep. He'll probably awake around two maybe three more hours at the most."

"Wow Kurosaki, you definitely know what you're doing! That's quite impressive."

"Tch, I'm in a medic college, of course I know what I'm doing, Urahara."

Urahara smiled behind his fan. "Right, forgive me. But if you knew how to take care of Ishida, why bring him here to my shop?"

Ichigo looked down. "Because it was the closest place that was around and because I was wondering if you felt anything… out of the ordinary."

Urahara took this into mind but couldn't feel anything wrong. "Sorry, Kurosaki, but I don't feel any high reiatsu. Actually, I did feel something, but it was too faint to pin point its location," he then looked over to Uryū, "also, I thought that it was Ishida or you who I was feeling. But seeing him now like this makes me wonder that he didn't do this during training, right?"

Ichigo's sight moved over to Uryū. "Don't worry, I'll ask him when he wakes up. It's nothing that I can't handle."

Urahara moved to exit the room. "You should know if something is too dangerous, don't charge at it without any back up." Then he closed the door behind him.

Ichigo slid down on the wall, and rested his head on his propped up knee, closing his eyes he tried to remember what occurred at the park.

"**My name is Mikio, and this is my Naoki tree. I was sent here to eliminate that Quincy right there."**

_Damn! Why would someone be after Ishida? And that guy, who the hell is he?_ Ichigo heard some groaning, and lifted his head over to where the noise was coming from. Uryū was shifting around the cushioned bed, until his eyes began to flutter open.

"Ugh, where am I?"

"Urahara's shop."

Uryū turned his head to where he heard the source of his answer, and saw that Ichigo was sitting down on the floor, having a worried look on his face. "Why? And what are you doing here?"

Ichigo stood up dusting off his Shinigami robes. "Well, let me refresh your memory, were here because some weirdo used a tree to whip you around, and I'm here because I was the one that carried you."

Uryū tried to remember what happened but all he could recall was that out of nowhere a tree began attacking him. Then Uryū began to remember what happened before he fell unconscious.

"**My name is Mikio the trunk of this tree, and the man who shall set you free from your sin."**

Uryū quickly sat up causing his torso wound to sting. He grabbed at his chest, "ugh, wait who bandaged me up! Did Urah-"

"No, I did." Ichigo looked at the Quincy as he had a scowl on his face. He scratched the back of his head. "When I brought you here I quickly brought you into a room. But while I was taking off your shirt, and examining your wound, I saw that you had that mark, so I told Urahara that I would take care of it."

Even after being told this, Uryū still scowled at the orange head. Protectively covering up where his mark was with his right hand. "You shouldn't have seen that. No one is supposed to see that." Uryū lies back down, and turned around, not wanting to look at Ichigo anymore.

Ichigo scowls at what he just said. "Well, excuse me; I didn't know you've become so sensitive, Ishida."

Uryū turned around and leaned on his elbow, scowling back at the source of his anger. "What did you say, Shinigami." Hissing the words out with pure venom in his voice as Uryū scowled at the Shinigami.

_Oh, great, now what did I get myself into. _

"You heard me."

Uryū placed both his elbows down and leaned on them. "I wondered if I have heard wrong, but as always you prove me wrong, Shinigami."

Ichigo was tired at hearing him say 'Shinigami' as if he was some common enemy. "Look I-"

Uryū interrupted him. "No, you look, I owe you nothing. The only reason your here is because you feel guilty at what happened to me! If it wasn't for that, you wouldn't even be here!"

Ichigo was sick at being falsely accused by him. "How do you know that! And why wouldn't I be here. Is it because after you told me-"

"Shut up! It was a mistake!"

Ichigo growled and made his way in front of the enraged Quincy. "A mistake? You call that a mistake," he looked directly into Uryū's eyes, "let me tell you what a 'mistake' is. A mistake was when I didn't respond to you after you confessed. A mistake is when I felt your reiatsu go crazy, and did nothing to try to figure out what was going on," Ichigo's eyes softened as he looked on at his sapphire eyes, "and a mistake is when I couldn't make it in time to try to save you."

Uryū looked to the side, not wanting to show that he was weakening on his anger towards the orange head. "I rather you didn't save me. I'm not like Kuchiki-san or Inoue-san, I don't need-"

"Bull shit."

Uryū's eyes widened, and turned around to look at Ichigo. "Wha-"

Ichigo kneeled down on one leg to get on his level of sight. "I said bull shit. You may be able to take care of yourself with you being a Quincy and all. But everyone always needs to know that they'll be someone there, ready to help. You may hate me, but I'll never let any of the people I care about get hurt."

Uryū knew that there was no point in being angry at Ichigo anymore. Hearing his words and seeing the sincere look on his face made Uryū forget about all that occurred in the park. Uryū looked down, his frown weakening, and his hair moving to cover up his face. He mumbled something that was difficult to hear, even though Ichigo was in close proximity of the Quincy.

"Uh, wha-"

"I said I don't hate you, even though I have every reason to hate you."

Ichigo was bewildered after Uryū spoke those words. _Maybe he's delusional. Yeah, he's in so much pain that he doesn't even know what he's saying anymore._

Keeping his head low, Uryū could tell that it was hard for Ichigo to comprehend that him, the-one-that-hates-all-Shinigami. Tell Ichigo that he doesn't hate him. It really is hard to believe.

Ichigo placed his hand on Uryū's forehead, making Uryū confused and turn a shade of red. "What a-are you doing?"

Ichigo then placed his other hand that wasn't occupied over his own forehead. "Trying to see if you have a fever."

Uryū's eyebrow twitched. _Stupid Shinigami, you try to say something nice and he misinterprets everything that anyone says. _

"Huh? You don't have one, but then, why is your face a bright shade of red?"

Uryū swatted Ichigo's hand away from his face. "I don't have a fever, Kurosaki!"

Ichigo backed away from Uryū, but gave a small smile. "Hey, you called me Kurosaki again."

Now, Uryū was confused. "Don't I always call you that?"

Ichigo stood up from the floor. "Not right now. You were practically saying 'Shinigami' with venom. Also, if looks could kill, I wouldn't be standing here right now."

Uryū looked ashamed. "Old habits die hard."

Ichigo placed his hands on his waist, looking down at Uryū's pained face. "Ishida, I really don't care if you do hate me-"

Uryū looked back up at Ichigo, interrupting him before he went any further. "Kurosaki how many times do I have to tell you, 'I don't hate you'. If I hated you then I wouldn't have been staying with you for as long as I have. If I hated you then I wouldn't even bother to hang around with you. If I hated you then I-I wouldn't have told you my… secret." Looking away after saying those words, not knowing if Ichigo was okay with him.

Ichigo understood that Uryū still felt insecure about telling him, and not knowing how he felt about the whole situation must really make him even more insecure. "Ishida, I-I what I'm trying to say is… well that I'm…" For some reason he couldn't say what he wanted to say.

Uryū closed his eyes, and nodded in understanding. "It's okay, it doesn't matter-"

"Of course it matters! It's just I-I don't know how to respond to this. I don't judge you for being the way that you are. I'm just confused."

_Of course you are, Kurosaki. You don't know how to get rid of me the proper way so you settle with words that have no meaning._ "If you're trying to tell me that you want nothing to do with me, that's fine."

Ichigo was getting frustrated at this whole conversation. "No, it's not 'fine'. I'm just… surprised." Ending it with no emotion in his voice, making it sound void.

Uryū looked over to Ichigo. "Why would you be surprised? Kurosaki, I can sew, cook, listen to operas, and like to see the fashion channel, how are you surprised that I'm not gay?"

Ichigo felt his face turn red in embarrassment; he sat on the floor and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, I thought that you-well you know, liked girls."

Uryū saw how embarrassed Ichigo was for not being able to tell his sexuality. "Oh, name one girl that I have shown any form of attraction to."

Ichigo shuffled uncomfortably. "Um, Inoue?"

Uryū's eyes widened as he heard the words come out of his mouth. "That's funny, and here I thought you were attracted to her."

Ichigo then looked back at Uryū with a red faced frown. "I-I'm not attracted to her! I just worry about her, that's all."

"Well, I also only worry about Inoue-san as well."

There was a pause of awkwardness in the room, until Ichigo heard what Uryū said next. "What about Kuchiki-san?"

Ichigo had now closed his eyes, trying to see if he could control the heat on his face. "What about her."

"Aren't you attracter to her?"

Ichigo opened his eyes and stared at the confused Quincy. "No, not really. I mean she's old enough to be my great grandmother."

Uryū raised his eyebrow at this. "Then who are you attracted to, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo's face began heating up once again. "No one, I'm not attracted to no one, happy? And since when did this turn into twenty questions? I was just saying that I don't care about your sexuality… wait… I finally said it!" Ichigo straightened his posture and looked at Uryū straight in the eye. "Ishida, I don't care if you don't like girls or if you are attracted to guys."

Uryū carefully examined Ichigo, not believing a single word that he just said. "And I actually love Ryūken as a father."

Ichigo frowned at the sarcastic-ness of his voice. "I'm being serious! What would take you to believe that I really don't care? Anything, that's what I'll do if you believe the words that I'm saying."

Uryū thought about this. _Anything, huh? Well, it wouldn't hurt to try. _"Then, how about letting me stay at your apartment, Kurosaki?"

"Huh? That's it, fine, you can stay. I was going to tell you that anyway."

Once more the room fell to a silent awkwardness between the two boys.

"Kurosaki?"

"Yeah?"

"Get out so I can sleep."

"Tch, whatever."

* * *

><p>The large dark room was filled with many voices as they all discussed the situation at hand. All eleven men were seated around a large white oval table, each one bringing up a point to discuss.<p>

"Why are we here?"

"Yes, wasn't it Mikio's job to take care of that Quincy. I hardly think that all of us need to be brought together for this."

"Stop your whining!"

The men that were seated were donning on black marching gear with white flaps going down the middle, their pants were completely black with some white stitches going down, and they each wore leathered black boots. Four of the men had their uniform reached below their waist line while the rest wore theirs to where they were above their pants.

The room quieted down when they heard the sound of boots coming closer to the table. They all brought their attention to the one that they send out to eliminate the Quincy. Mikio stopped in front of the table and gave them all a small smirk. "Please, don't stop your discussion merely because I'm here."

The one with blond hair, and gold eyes spoke up. "You're here because you failed a simple mission that Leader told us to complete! We all agreed to send you to take care of it, but what's the point if you can't even do that!"

Mikio crossed his arms behind his back. "Well, I see that you are as loud as ever, Takeshi," the man that was being called frowned at Mikio and crossed his arms over his chest, "also, your stupidity never ceases to amaze me."

Takeshi slammed his fist over the table. "What did you say?" Growling the words as he screamed them over to the smirking black haired man who had been insulting him.

"Why you little punk-"

"Takeshi, stop your fussing. It's getting annoying, for me and everyone else in the room. Now, how about we let Mikio give out his report."

Mikio smiled over to the man with blue eyes and black hair swept behind with slickness making him look like a professional office worker. "Thank you, Hiromi. Now-"

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Called out a smooth voice from the distance of the room.

They all had their eyes wide as they look at the man entering, and honoring them with his presence.

Mikio was the first to speak when the man entered into full view. "Leader."

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><p><strong>AN: New faces introduced, here's the meaning:**

**Takeshi: Fierce; Warrior. **

**Hiromi: Widespread beauty.**

**Sorry for not posting this chapter yesterday!**

**Comments to reviews:**

**Haddrell: Forgive me if my last chapter brought out bad memories, I still hope you continue with this story.**

**RhavenL: Yes, there's exactly 13 OC in this, and each have their own special ability. You just have to wait and see!**

**Yitani East: I'm glad you find this engaging! The next chapter will have more information on the people who have evil intentions in mind!**

**Please keep on reviewing, I enjoy reading them! **


	7. Don't Push Me Out

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Don't Push Me Out<p>

Ichigo sat crossed legged outside of Uryū's room in Urahara's shop. He crossed his arms, and closed his eyes. _I wonder if everything would go back like it was. I mean I know it's gonna be kinda weird now, knowing that he prefers the same gender. But I rather be around him than not being around him at all._ Ichigo opened his eyes when he heard movement within Uryū's room. He stood up, and opened the door.

Uryū was franticly moving around in his sleep. _Is he… having a nightmare?_ Ichigo leaned down and placed his hand on his forehead. Uryū kept fidgeting, having his eyes tightly shut. He began panting and mumbled, "… s… si…" Ichigo was beginning to worry.

"Hey, wake up. Ishida, it's just a nightmare, wake up."

Uryū stopped moving and opened up his eyes. Sweat could be seen falling down his forehead, and he was also breathing heavily. He looked over to where Ichigo was and turned away.

Ichigo frowned. "Are you okay? You looked like you were dreamin' up a bad nightmare there, want to talk about it?"

Uryū only held the sheets tighter. _A nightmare? That's right, I remember now._ Uryū spoke up, not turning away from his side. "Go away, Kurosaki. I have nothing… to say."

This made Ichigo's frown deepen, and he clenched his fists tightly. "Why do you always push me away? Even when I try to be nice you still lock yourself up."

"It has nothing to do with you, just go home."

Ichigo stood up but kept his eyes locked on Uryū. "Well, for one it's still raining, so there's no way I'm going to drench myself in the rain," he paused and waited for a moment, "does it have to do with what happened in-"

"No! It has nothing to do with that! Now just go away, I don't need you!"

Even though Ichigo wanted to bash his head, he felt that Uryū was feeling shitty right now. The way he was tightly clenching the sheets and the way he was breathing, made him feel bad. He went out to reach his hand to comfort Uryū, but then there was a flash of lightning. Uryū jumped from the impact the noise made, making Ichigo retract his hand.

He decided to leave the Quincy alone, and walked over to the door. He looked back to the shaking Quincy. Ichigo opened the door, and closed it.

Uryū began quivering in the sheets. "Why me? What did I do to deserve this?" Then he felt someone placing their hand on his back, making him gasp at the contact. He began turning around but the hand kept him in place.

"Just go to sleep."

And that's what he did. He fell to a complete slumber with the noise of the rain and the warm touch of Ichigo's hand gently patting at his back.

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><p>Mikio kept his eyes on the man that arrived as he walked over to his seat, which was at the front of the table. The man then looked over to him and gestured to his seat, "won't you sit down, Mikio."<p>

"Ah, yes, forgive me." He then went to take his seat, and kept his gaze on the man just like everyone else was doing in the room.

Hiromi was the first to speak up, "Leader-"

"I already told every single one of you, my name is Kenshin. Do not make me repeat myself."

Hiromi took a moment to take this in. "Of course, forgive me."

Kenshin looked over to Mikio who was keeping his gaze down at the table. He smiled and began to speak, "Mikio, weren't you just going to give out your report."

Mikio looked up. "Of course, well, from what I gather, the Quincy boy seems to have some sort of an alliance with an orange head Shinigami. He wields a long Zanpakutō as long as his body; he also has immense reiatsu with being able to summon up enough power to be able to eliminate anything in its path. That is all I have to give."

"Tch, eliminate you, you mean. How pathetic Mikio, I would have eliminated both those weaklings at the mere flip of the wrist."

Mikio snarled at Takeshi. "Are you challenging me!"

Takeshi smirked, but before anything could be said, Kenshin spoke up before neither could. "Takeshi, I want you to be quite for now," he then placed his attention to Mikio, "Mikio, how is your Naoki seed doing?"

Mikio then remembered the damage his tree got from the Shinigami. "It's… coming along."

Kenshin placed his elbows on the table and crossed his fingers. "I see, well for the mean time I untrust you with the job of watching over Karakura Town," he looked over to Mikio to see his shock on his face, "instead keep your seed developing around the town. I am now entrusting the job to Takeshi," said man was shocked but smirked, "and Kioshi."

Takeshi was about to retort but he was stopped as Kenshin's cold blue eyes made contact with his. "Don't go getting cocky, that is why Kioshi will be going with you. I know how you will just jump at any challenge; Kioshi will do well and keep you in check. But let me warn the both of you, your only jobs are to keep an eye on the Quincy, and the Shinigami, do I make myself clear?"

Takeshi frowned but nodded. "Of course, Kenshin. Please excuse me." He then left the room without looking back.

Kenshin sighed, "Kioshi, will you please follow him, and make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

Kioshi opened his brown eyes, and stood up. "Sure, whatever." Leaving the room as well.

"Kenshin, are you sure of sending those two to Karakura Town?"

Kenshin brought his attention to the man that asked the question. "Of course, Toshio, I have nothing to worry about. I simple want to keep tabs on our chess pieces. Soon, Karakura Town will befall one of its greatest tragedies. We shall rid that town of all its sinners, and watch on as the sinners go straight to Hell."

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><p><strong>AN: Meaning:**

**Toshio: alert/genius/valued man.**

**Kenshin: modest truth**

**Kioshi: quiet**

**Please review!**


	8. Cafe

**A/N: Happy late Halloween!**

**Thanks for the reviews.**

**Don't own Bleach.**

* * *

><p>Café<p>

After countless hours, the sun finally came up, the dark clouds left, and now the only sound outside where birds chirping all around. This is what Uryū woke up to, as he started fluttering his eyes open. He looked around the room and didn't find an orange head Shinigami anywhere. _Maybe it was just a dream. Why would Kurosaki stay with me until I fell asleep?_ Uryū sat up, and took the sheets of his body.

His eyes widened at what he saw. "Kurosaki!"

Ichigo heard his name be called from outside of Urahara"s shop, as he came back from his apartment. He hurried inside to see what happened. "Ishida, what's wrong?" Then he felt a pillow hit him in the face. "What the hell!"

Uryū had covered himself up once again with the sheets, clenching them tightly as he had a slight blush go across his face. "What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong, Kurosaki! Why don't I have any pants or boxers covering up my legs?" Uryū was completely embarrassed that Ichigo had taken off his clothes from the bottom portion of his waist.

Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "Wow, you barely noticed that now."

"Is that all you have to say!"

Ichigo tossed the clothes that he went to get from his apartment to Uryū. "Hey, I was examining your wounds, and if you think about it, would you rather have Urahara's perverted hands all over you."

Uryū took his clothes into his hand and began unfolding them. "Well, when you put it that way, I guess I'll let it slide. Now, leave so I can dress."

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever."

Uryū watched as he left and stood up once he closed the door, then he began to place his blue boxers over his bandaged up legs, after that he placed his pants on. He then took the white shirt and placed it over his head. He saw that his glasses were placed on the side of the cushioned bed and went to retrieve them, carefully placing them on his face. Once he looked suitable to his liking, he decided to exit the small room.

Ichigo was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, as he was waiting for Uryū to come out. He looked over and saw that Uryū finally came out. "Oh, you're done. Are you okay?"

Uryū raised on eyebrow. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

For some reason the room felt tense as they just kept staring at each other. Ichigo shrugged his shoulders to knock some of that tension away. "Just askin'. Anyway, let's go." He headed out but was stopped by Uryū's reply.

"Are you sure, I mean are you really okay with-"

Ichigo sighed and turned around. "Ishida, you're a Quincy, I'm a substitute Shinigami. Do you really think that you being attracted to men is going to make a big difference to our already abnormal life?"

_He does have a point, which is so… unusual._

Uryū got closer to Ichigo. "Kurosaki, are you sure you feel alright?"

Ichigo frowned at the accusation. "Yeah. Why?"

Uryū placed his thumb and index finger under his chin, as examining Ichigo. "Well, answer me this, were you the one who stitched up my wounds?"

"Yeah."

Uryū frowned, and tackled Ichigo to the floor. "Where's the real Kurosaki?" He screamed as Ichigo was struggling to get the Quincy off.

Ichigo was confused to what Uryū was doing and tried to push Uryū away from him, but the Quincy kept his hold on him. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Kurosaki is never that smart or calm about things! Who the hell are you?"

Ichigo frowned. "Is that what this is about? Ishida, if I wasn't Kurosaki how would I know that you have a weird looking tattoo on your chest!"

Uryū stopped all movement and began getting off of Ichigo. "Oh, sorry, Kurosaki. It's just you've been taking this situation from an intellectual point, I guess miracles never cease do they?"

Ichigo began getting up from the floor, dusting his pants from the dirt. "Are you saying that I'm an idiot? I may not be as smart as you, Ishida, but I know enough to know how to handle whatever goes around in our crazy life!"

Uryū just kept on staring at Ichigo in a whole new light. "Forgive me; from all those years I've known you, you really wouldn't be someone I would take as taking things so lightly. I guess you really have grown."

"The hell I have! You're just too caught up in your own little world that you don't really pay much attention to the people around you."

Uryū frowned. "That's not true! I pay attention to know enough about you, Kurosaki!"

Ichigo crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then when was the last time we actually did something together-that didn't involve Hollow hunting or just sitting around my apartment."

Uryū was interrupted before he could say anything, but he did have a point, when _was_ the last time they actually spent some time together? Hollow hunting really didn't count because that's something that they have to do, not because they want to. And being around his apartment is not really a choice either, after all he does now technically live there. So, other than that, they really haven't taken the time to get to know each other better even though they known each other for over four years, and have fought side by side. Maybe it was time they did get to know each other a bit more.

"You're right; I guess I really don't know that much about you, Kurosaki."

Ichigo was confused at how easy Uryū was able to recognize this. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "If you want we can go out somewhere, as you know… a way to get to know each other better."

Uryū thought about this until it occurred to him that they should be in school. "Kurosaki what about college-"

"It's pretty late, so there's no point in having to go. So what do you say about the offer?"

Uryū relaxed a bit but felt a little uncomfortable. "Fine, but where are we supposed to go without everyone around here getting suspicious?"

"Hmm, how about we go to the small café near here, many people don't go there, and the people who do always seem to be minding their own business."

"S-sure, why not?"

Ichigo grinned at this, and began walking off. "Let's go then."

Without a second thought, Uryū began following Ichigo to see how far they would get with this compromise._ This is very strange, but not unwelcoming._

* * *

><p>A man entered Karakura Hospital, and began making his way to see the director of the hospital, ignoring the woman who tried to stop him.<p>

"E-excuse me sir, but you can't go in there without an appointment!"

The man waved his hand. "Oh, don't worry! I don't need an appointment to see an old flame!"

The woman had her hand up but it fell as the man was out of sight. "But he's not in his office."

The man opened the door making it hit the wall. He had a huge smile on his face as he announced his arrival. "RYŪKEN! I-huh, I guess he's busy with some patients, no problem! I'll just wait for him here. What better way than to surprise my dear Ryu-chan!"

* * *

><p>Ryūken walked by the receptionist to get to his office only to be stopped.<p>

"Sir, a man came-"

"I know." And he kept on walking not once staring at the receptionist as he walked to his office.

Without a hesitation, he opened the door, and ignored the man that was happily situated on the white bed in the room.

"You're not going to greet me." Sounding slightly hurt as he pointed to himself with his index finger, and had a slight pout on his face.

Ryūken took a seat on his chair, and began looking through his files. "There is no need for me to greet you, Kurosaki. Mainly because you seem to have developed a habit to come here whenever you feel like it."

Isshin began to whine. "Aw, what happened to calling me by my first name, Ryu-chan?"

Ryūken pushed his glasses up. "What did you really come here for?"

Isshin sat up and looked at him, as he was still looking through the manila folders. "I was wondering why you sent your son to live with-"

"I didn't. It was his choice to decide where he wanted to stay at, even though I don't approve of it."

Isshin gave a grin to the man. "If you're so disapproving, then why don't you do something about it?"

"It wouldn't make a difference that is what makes him a fool. You can leave any minute now, Kurosaki."

Isshin settled himself back down on his side and situated his hand to support his face, having a gentle smile on his face. "Not until you call me by my first name, Ryūken."

"Whatever."

* * *

><p>"So, what do you think?"<p>

Uryū looked around the small café, as Ichigo allowed him to enter first, as he held the door for him. "It's surprisingly calm, the atmosphere is very nice."

Ichigo closed the door of the café and moved to the normal table he usually would sit at, Uryū followed right behind him.

"It is. I usually come here when we're going to have some exam and drop by here to study. It's way better then to being crouched over a couch with books scattered everywhere."

Uryū tried to get comfortable on the tall chair, but listened carefully to Ichigo. "I agree, this place would be a better place to study."

A waitress then came to their table with a notepad in her hand. "Would you like to other something?"

Before Uryū could say anything, Ichigo placed his order. "We'll both have a vanilla blended frappuccino."

The waitress wrote it down. "Excuse me; your order will be right up."

Uryū looked at the waitress that left, and then looked back at Ichigo. "What did you just order, it sounded really good."

Ichigo nodded. "It is, when I first came here I only ordered a Caffè Misto, but when they had a special for frappuccinos, I decide to try the vanilla flavored one. Also, it was kinda a little bit of a healthier choice compared to something called dark mocha chip."

A couple of seconds later, the same waitress came back with two cups of a vanilla flavored frappuccino.

"Hope you enjoy."

Uryū looked at the completely white cup before him, and actually felt his mouth water. "K-Kurosaki, what is in this delectable looking thing?"

Ichigo smiled at the question. "Its vanilla syrup blended with milk, ice, and whipped cream." He then used his straw and took a long sip from his beverage, encouraging Uryū to do the same.

Uryū brought the drink closer and then placed his mouth on the straw, and began sipping down the drink. "Amazing, I never tasted anything like this before!" He then went back to sipping his drink, not noticing the small smile that Ichigo was trying to cover.

Once Uryū finished his drink, and Ichigo was halfway finishing his, Uryū took the liberty to start up a conversation. "Kurosaki, you said that you wanted to use this time to get to know each other better, so what can you tell me about yourself."

Ichigo thought about it for a moment. "Hmm, to tell you the truth, I've really never done something like this before. Usually I befriend people because of my recklessness and my determination. But if you want to know something about myself, I would say that… I got nothin'."

Uryū was resting his chin on his hand, and decided to try himself. "Well, that is true once you do think about it, but what about your family, what are they like?"

"Huh, oh that's right; you've never seen my family before. Well, you know I have two younger sisters, Karin, and Yuzu. Which are very different from the other, Yuzu is more girly, while Karin likes to do sports. My old man, he's just plain crazy, that's the only word to sum him up."

Uryū placed his hands in front of him, clasping them together. "You have quite… the interesting family, Kurosaki. The only family I have would be Ryūken, but we really don't see eye to eye."

Ichigo could see that he didn't want to talk about him so he tried a different approach. "What about any other memorable family members, you should at least have one."

At this, Uryū brightened up. "I do actually. It was my grandfather, Sōken Ishida. He's the one who taught me how to be a Quincy; he also taught me how to cook. He's probably the only person I would be able to call family. Until he…"

Ichigo saw that he was struggling with his words, and intervened. "He sounds like a great man, you really are fortunate to have had someone like him in your life, Ishida."

Uryū smiled at the kind words Ichigo was saying. "Thanks, but don't you think we should be heading home now?"

Ichigo nodded, and both stood up from the chair. Ichigo left the money at the table with a tip, and then followed Uryū to the exit.

* * *

><p>A couple of minutes later both arrived to the apartment. Ichigo was scrambling with his keys, and accidentally dropped them.<p>

"I'll get them." Uryū bent down to retrieve them but also did Ichigo. Making them both bump their heads, and making Uryū drop his glasses.

Ichigo saw this, and went to grab his glasses, but both touched hands and became unbalanced of being crouched on their knees, leading Ichigo to fall on top of Uryū. It was the first time Ichigo has ever seen the Quincy's eyes without his glasses up close. His eyes were so sapphire clear that it almost looked like he was staring at a clean blue ocean. "Sorry." He began to stand up, and grabbed the keys on the floor before he could.

Uryū was still trying to register what happened moments ago. But he was distracted as he saw a blurry hand reaching out to him. He grabbed it, and was pulled up; Uryū then he felt Ichigo place his glasses on his face.

"Thank you, Kurosaki."

Ichigo merely went back to opening the door and turned the knob once he was able to place the right key on the keyhole. Walking in Ichigo turned on the light, and began heading off into his room. Before he could enter his room, Ichigo turned around to face Uryū. "Uh, goodnight, Ishida." Closing the door before Uryū could reply.

Uryū tightened his fists and headed to the couch. "Goodnight, Kurosaki."

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><p><strong>AN: Please review!**


	9. Dream Come True

**A/N: Thanks for the review!**

**Don't own Bleach.**

* * *

><p>Dream Come True<p>

In the middle of the night, two young men departed for bed, but not everyone was asleep. Ichigo was seated in the middle of his bed with a bewildered look on his face, contemplating on the events that occurred today.

_What did I do? I asked Ishida to come with me to a small café; I never invite someone out like that if it doesn't mean all my friends will be attending to. But instead it was just Ishida, and I. The two of us, no one else. Could that have been considered a… date! No, of course not, we were just two guys trying to get to know each other better, yeah that's it. But then, why was I so… happy? He's a guy, who also likes guys, agh! That doesn't mean I like them! But thinking back, I never actually felt anything for any girls I use to hang out with. Not the Shinigami women, nor the girls in my school. I guess I just chalked it up, as to I really have no sexual interest in anyone. But then why did I feel the need to k-k, never mind. I'll just sleep it off. _Ichigo laid back down on his bed and covered himself with the handmade Quincy blanket. Letting himself be pulled into his dreams.

"**Kurosaki, I need you…"**

**Ichigo got lost in the sapphire eyes, and did the only thing he could do, he leaned down and captured the Quincy's lips.**

"Holly shit!"

Ichigo quickly covered up his mouth with his hand, not wanting to accidently wake Uryū up. He was slightly panting, and had his face slightly flushed. _What the hell was that? _Ichigo looked to his nightstand and grabbed his cell phone. He flipped it open and checked the time, in bright white light emitted two-thirty in the morning. He looked outside his window and saw that it was completely dark. He closed his phone and placed it back on the nightstand.

Ichigo grabbed at his head with his hand, and noticed that he had beads of sweat on his forehead. _That was the most realistic dream I have ever had. Damn, I'm not going to be able to sleep like this if I keep dreaming up a panting Quincy who ran his soft… hands on the nape of my neck, looking at me with those clear cobalt eyes of his-STOP IT! I'm going to settle this once and for all!_ Ichigo pushed of the covers and with a determined look on his face, he walked to his door, and opened it up.

He looked around his living room, and couldn't see the Quincy anywhere. He thought he was lying down on the couch, but when he went to check, Uryū was not there. Ichigo felt a sense of panic, _where's Ishida?_ That's when he heard the bathroom door open. He turned around and saw the infamous Uryū Ishida covered in only his towel that he had secured around his waist, while he used another towel to dry his hair. Ichigo did the only thing he could do: hide.

Ichigo quickly fell to the floor, and was lying down like a soldier who was sneaking around enemy lines. He heard Uryū sigh, and felt himself lose some blood from his head as it was now going down his southern region. He shook his head, and tries to maneuver his way out of this, trying to figure out when Uryū would get near the couch so he could quickly crawl to the back of the couch from the Quincy's sight.

"Damn that Kurosaki."

_Hmm, what did I do?_

Ichigo heard Uryū come close to the couch, and rapidly started crawling to the side of the couch. He looked from the side to try to glimpse at the towel wrapped Quincy. But once he looked at him, Uryū was just standing there using his second towel to keep drying his hair. Ichigo saw this as the perfect time to get the hell out of there. He began crawling back to his room, until he heard a familiar sound hissing in the air. Then he saw a flash of blue flash by his head, barely missing him as it was aimed at the floor next to him.

Ichigo quickly stood up, and began yelling at the Quincy. "What the hell, Uryū! Now you left a mark on my floor!"

Uryū pointed an accusing finger at him. "What the hell were you doing here, Kurosaki!"

Ichigo calmed back down realizing that he had no reason to be out of his room that early in the morning. But he quickly retorted back, "yeah, well, what were you doing taking a shower this late at night!"

Thanks to the darkness of the room, Ichigo couldn't see the small blush that went across Uryū's face. "I forgot to take one before I slept, so I woke up and took one. Now, answer me my question, Kurosaki."

Ichigo felt lost at what to say. "Well, I-I was looking for something to drink."

Uryū crossed his arms over his chest giving Ichigo a deadpan look. "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"You're right, I should just-"

As Ichigo went back down to the floor, he began crawling back into his room, only to be stopped by another arrow. This time it was aimed right in front of his face. Then he could hear the chilly voice of Uryū as he heard his steps get closer.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere until you tell me what you were up to, Kurosaki."

_Damn, why is he talking so low and sexy-agh! You are not attracted to Ishida!_ Ichigo kept on repeating this in his head like a mantra.

Uryū saw that Ichigo was not going to turn around and he frowned as he was being ignored. He walked closer to Ichigo and took the lightest arrow he could muster up and shoot it at Ichigo's back.

Ichigo jumped to his feet. "OWWW! What the hell was that for you crazy Quincy!" But once Ichigo turned around to face the Quincy, he felt himself lose any more coherent thoughts in his head. Uryū was looking at Ichigo with a slight frown on his face and his arms crossed.

_Damn, why the hell is that pose looking so sexy? And why am I so aroused by this?_

"You were ignoring me, Kurosaki. Now, answer my question."

Ichigo was stuttering as he began speaking. "Uh, w-well, I-I… got nothin'."

Uryū raised one of his eyebrows. "It could help if you spoke truthfully."

Ichigo sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to get out of this until Uryū got the truth from him. "Fine, but put some clothes on."

Uryū went back to the couch, and retrieved a neatly folded white shirt, and blue pants, all the while as he was placing them on; Ichigo was looking away with a blush on his face. Once Uryū placed them on, he came back to the same position he once was at.

"Now, tell me."

Ichigo looked to the side, not wanting to make any eye contact with him. "I… had this dream, and wanted to clear something up."

"And what did that have to do with coming out of your room, and trying to sneak around me."

Still looking away, Ichigo scratched the back of his head. "I was trying to see if I…"

"Yes." Encouraging Ichigo to continue, and also walking forward to close up some of the space between them.

Not knowing that Uryū was walking forward, until he turned to face him. Ichigo felt his body trembling under the force of his sapphire eyes. "To see if I was getting attracted… to you," saying it with no emotion behind it, as he felt like he was backed up against a wall.

Uryū was surprised, but surprised Ichigo more. "I… see. Then let me clear this up for you, Kurosaki. You were merely experiencing hormonal symptoms, and since I'm the only one here, it's natural that you would dream up such a thing," Uryū looked away, as he finished his sentence, "and besides, I would never date a Shinigami."

Ichigo at first felt a loss for words, but then felt a pang of rage inside him. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean! Just because I'm a Shinigami you wouldn't consider it! Don't you even feel a slight attraction to me?"

Uryū looked back at the enraged Shinigami, giving him the coldest glare he could give at the moment. "Of course I do! But you're a Shinigami, and I'm a Quincy! Were enemies-"

"The hell with that! Ever since I met you, you kept ranting off about how were enemies, but we never ever engaged in any last man standing match! Instead we went out for coffee and talked. I don't really think that's what 'enemies' are supposed to do."

Ichigo could see the frustration he was causing the young Quincy. But he still held his ground. "You idiot! Can't you see that I can't have feelings for you, it's just not possible!"

Now Ichigo was certain that Uryū was holding onto his measly pride that he flaunts around. Finally lost in the rage, and in the need, he began to walk forward until he was face to face with Uryū. He grabbed him tightly by the front of his shirt so now he was facing him. "Well, guess what, Ishida, I don't care about any of that stuff!" And before Uryū could retort anything back, Ichigo did the only thing he had wanted to do ever since his dream. He grabbed Uryū's chin with his free hand and pulled his face towards his.

Uryū's eyes grew wide, as Ichigo kissed him; he raised his arms and placed them on his shoulders. Trying to push him away, but soon, he began to lose himself to the softness of Ichigo's lips over his. He closed his eyes tightly, and still kept struggling until he felt Ichigo stick out his tongue over his lip. Then he lost it. Traitorously linking his arms behind his neck, he had lost all control as he began to deepen the kiss by opening his mouth to the provoking tongue. Ichigo quickly accepted his invitation, and soon their tongues met, tasting themselves for the first time.

Uryū felt himself getting dizzy at the pleasure he was receiving and groaned when Ichigo moved the hand that was on his chin to the back of his head. Softly running his fingers in his hair, as Uryū tried to hold on to Ichigo for dear life, feeling his knees beginning to buckle beneath him. Ichigo felt this, and soon both broke apart for the need of air.

Ichigo looked at Uryū's sapphire eyes, and felt himself get lost in them. "Are you okay?"

Uryū was quietly panting, and was getting lost in Ichigo's deep chocolate eyes. Almost as if it was the first time he has ever noticed them. He then nodded to his question, not feeling that he had the power to speak out any words in the moment.

Ichigo broke their gaze. "Do you want to… sleep in my room?"

Again, Uryū merely nodded, and let himself be pulled away by Ichigo as he took him by the hand, and began leading him to the comfort of his room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Leave any comments you like, I would really like to read them.**


	10. Regret?

**A/N: Anyone else coming down with a flu? **

**Don't own Bleach.**

* * *

><p>Regret?<p>

Ichigo began stirring awake as he heard birds chirping outside. He had his eyes closed, and began searching around the bed for a warm body. But when he didn't feel the Quincy next to him, he began to open his eyes, and saw that there was no one there. Ichigo sat up on the bed, leaning on the headboard.

"Ishida? Last night couldn't have been a dream, it felt too real." Ichigo got out of bed and made his way into the living room, in hope of finding Uryū there. Once he saw that he wasn't there, he went by to check the bathroom, and soon he went to check the small flat outside his apartment. But he was nowhere to be found. Ichigo ran his hand through his hair.

"Where could he be at? Did he run off to someplace because of last night?" Ichigo stared at the door and hoped that the Quincy would soon return from where ever he was at. He sighed and decided that it was better not to dwell on it, and headed for the bathroom.

* * *

><p>Uryū was idle walking by the streets with no direction in mind, his hands stuffed inside his pants pockets. He kept his head low, as if not wanting to stare at anyone else. <em>What did I do last night? I let myself be subdued by a Shinigami, how pathetic of me. But his kiss, it was very sincere; it held a warmth that I hadn't felt for a long time. <em>

Lost in his train of thoughts, Uryū didn't once notice two clothed black strangers, as they stared at him from the edge of their eyes. The two turned back to where he was coming from and headed to that direction.

"That was the Quincy, wasn't it?" Takeshi shoved his hands into his pants while not looking at his companion that was walking right beside him. For some strange reason, Takeshi could never feel safe around Kioshi. He would even go as far as to say he didn't trust him at all. But all in all, he never trusted anyone of his group to begin with.

Kioshi grunted as a response, and ignored the blond man next to him. Out of all the people in their group, Takeshi was his least favorite. He was too rowdy for his taste, and also he caused to much trouble more than he was worth, if he had his way, Takeshi wouldn't be standing next to him at all.

When both of them arrived to their destination, they looked up at the large complex, and could sense a strong reiatsu from inside one of the rooms. But their attention was diverted, as another reiatsu walked by them, a young breasted woman with long orange-hair walked by, acting as if she didn't notice them at all.

Takeshi felt this woman go nearer to the reiatsu of the Shinigami, and began smirking once he felt her not more than ten feet from their target. "Well, Leader did say that he wanted to break the bonds of the Quincy and Shinigami. And what better way than to get that woman involve in the mix," Takeshi let out a small chuckle as an idea began to form in his head, "perfect, what better affair than a love triangle!" His chuckle soon turned into a wild laugh.

Kioshi looked over to Takeshi with bored eyes,_ this is why I can't stand him, he's to annoying to be around with._ He looked back up to the building and decided that it was just best to ignore the man that was laughing uncontrollably. _But the idea could stir up a bit of trust issues between the two men, and make them rethink their positions. But, even if that doesn't work, we'll just have to use force and get rid of the two._

"Hmm, will you shut up, people are beginning to stare."

* * *

><p>Once Uryū looked up, he was surprised at the location he had arrived at. He gazed at the secured waterfall he had once trained at. Past memories began to resurface the longer he gazed at the crashing water before him.<p>

He walked over to a large enough rock, and settled himself on it. _It sure has been a while since I've last been here. Lately I couldn't find the time to just think in peace. My thoughts, now a days are usually everywhere, especially since last night…_ Uryū shook his head as if trying to rid himself of such thoughts.

He looked down at the ground, shamefaced. "How could I do such a thing?" He placed one of his hands over his mouth, trying to cover up his most shameful act committed by his lips that were once moving to the rhythm of the Shinigami's lips. His traitorous lips commit the most power sin he could think of, and he should feel disgusted.

He should feel disgusted, but the way Ichigo was moving his hands around his body, and holding him in those arms of his, made him want to throw caution to the wind. But deep down he knows that he can't allow such a thing, no matter how much pain it will cause him, and Ichigo.

Too many people are already being hurt and hunted down for being… gay. He wouldn't want people to be thinking that Ichigo was fooling around with him. Many already suspect him to be gay, the only reason no one approaches him is because he usually makes sure not to be seen with any guy that the protestors would consider gay.

He clenches his fist at the thought of those protestors. _Why should I care about who I can and cannot date? The people around me don't own my life, I do! I run my own life; no one can tell me what to do! And if I want to have a relationship with Kurosaki, then to hell with the rest of the world!_

Finding his resolve, Uryū stands up and begins heading back to _his_ home. The only place he would dare call a true safe heaven. Not once thinking about the people he would hurt along the way, nor the people of the past ever showing up.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the late update! My little sister caught the flu and I have to take care of her, I'm only doing this chapter because she's asleep at the moment. **

**So I think you already know who the new girl is, no need to mention more.**

**Please review! It saddens me that not many are reviewing this story. **

**I'll try to post soon but I also have to watch over my sis, also I have other stories that I need to post. **


	11. Not Today

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Don't own Bleach.**

* * *

><p>Not Today<p>

Ichigo came out of the shower and walked out with only wearing a towel around his waist. He ran a hand through his wet hair, and then he heard a knock on the door. He looked at the door, and waited for it to open. _That's strange, doesn't Ishida know that he can open the door anytime he wants. _Ichigo walks towards the door, and opens it. When he did, he got the shock of his life.

"I-Inoue."

Orihime Inoue stood on the other side of the entrance with a smile on her face. Until she looked at Ichigo's form and her face began to turn red.

Ichigo looked down and remembered that he was just wearing a towel. "Uh, let me go change." He then quickly went into his room, shut the door.

_What the hell is Inoue doing here? I mean she's supposed to be living in another part of town now!_ He thought this, as he was going through his closet, picking anything that he came across. After placing on his clothes, he opened his door and closed it once more.

Ichigo walked over to Orihime as she was still standing by the entrance, fidgeting a little, and having her face resemble a strawberry. She looked embarrassed at finding him only wearing a towel around his waist.

"Come on in."

Orihime wasn't so sure to enter the home of the man she had the hugest crush on since she was young. _Being alone with Kurosaki-kun is much unexpected! Especially if were alone! _Orihime gave out a nervous laugh and entered. She looked around the spacious room as she followed Ichigo to the couch.

Ichigo gestured for her to take a seat, once she did; he went into the kitchen and brought a chair to the living room. He took a seat and looked at the still red faced Orihime. "Hey, Inoue. I never thought you've come back to Karakura Town."

Orihime shook her head. "I thought the same, but I felt the need to return back here. Also, Tatsuki-chan invited me to come visit her, she even paid the ticket for me, and so I couldn't refuse."

Ichigo was surprised to hear that Tatsuki was still around Karakura. "Tatsuki? I thought she also moved to another town?"

"No, she just moves around allot, and then one day, she called me and told me that she was heading back to Karakura Town. After that she said I should meet up with her so I did."

"Did you already see Tatsuki?"

Orihime nodded. "I'm staying with her, I told her that if she knew where you or Ishida-kun where staying at, and so, here I am. Except I couldn't find Ishida-kun, the people around his apartment told me that he moved. Do you know where Ishida-kun is?"

_Damn, if I tell her that he's staying with me, would that be the right thing to do. No, I should just tell her I don't know. _"Not really. I see him around but I don't pay attention to the things going on his life. You know how he is, he rather keep to himself than ask for help from some Shinigami. I really don't care what that Quincy does."

Uryū was about to open the door to the room, but once he heard those words come out of Ichigo's own voice, he stepped back and headed out of the building. _I'm so stupid, he doesn't care. Not at all._

Orihime stood up. "Well, I hope you and Ishida-kun can work out your differences soon. I better head back to Tatsuki-chan's place." Ichigo stood up and walked her to the door.

She waved goodbye, and he gave a wave back, once she was out of sight, Ichigo closed the door. His thoughts only going back to one person. _When is Ishida coming back? Didn't last night mean anything to him? He's probably berating himself because he kissed a Shinigami, but that shouldn't matter! Stupid Ishida, why does he let the smallest things get in the way, and tries to avoid them every time? Well, not today it isn't, I'm going to find him and bring him back, whether he likes it or not!_

Ichigo grabbed a random black jacket from atop of the couch, placing it on; he headed out of the room, with one goal in his mind the whole time.

* * *

><p>Orihime walked down the street until she was approached by a man dressed in a completely black with a long black coat. The man didn't seem like he was going to harm her in any way, but his eyes said another completely thing.<p>

Kioshi looked up to the sky. "You like the man that is a Shinigami, don't you." Not asking it like a question at all, almost as if he knew already that he was correct.

Orihime looked terrified, _how does this person know that Kurosaki-kun is a Shinigami! What does he want?_ Orihime opened her mouth to speak but was stopped as the strange man brought his sight upon her once more, captivating her attention with only a look.

"You don't need to say anything; all you need to tell me is… what you are willing to do, to have that man become yours. I but need only an answer."

Her eyes widened, _wha-I couldn't accept such a thing! I like Kurosaki-kun for such a long time but to accept an offer like this I-_

"If you say no, he'll forever ignore you and go search for the one person he truly loves, I'll ask but once more, do you accept my proposition?"

Orihime bowed her head and let everything sink in. Then with a small whisper, she gave him her answer.

* * *

><p><em>Damn that Quincy, he picked the worst time to hide his damn reiatsu, he also knows I'm still not good at that stuff!<em> Ichigo kept running down streets in hope of finding Uryū. He looked around every single place he could be at, but he was nowhere to be found. _Wait; what if he's…_

He quickly picked up his pace once more, completely certain were the Quincy could be located at. _Ishida, I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me how you feel._

* * *

><p>Uryū was seated by a tree with his knees up, covering his entire face. <em>I'm such a fool to think that Kurosaki could ever feel anything but hate towards me. To him, last night never happened. I rather forget that night as well.<em> Uryū came out of his thoughts as he heard someone call out his name.

"Ishida! Hey, are you here?"

_Stupid Kurosaki, doesn't he know that I don't want to see him at all. _He got up from his position and began living the sight of the calm waterfall he usually visits. Of course, he just had to step on a small twig that gave out his location. _Damn._

"Ishida! There you are!"

Ichigo came running towards the Quincy in a fast pace. Uryū just looked at the Shinigami with a frown plastered on his face. "What do you want, Kurosaki? I have no time to waste on a Shinigami."

Ichigo frowned at the stern tone Uryū was using with him. "I was just-"

"Just what? Going to tell me that you don't care about me, is that it!" Uryū moved pass him, but Ichigo grabbed a firm hold on his arm.

"What are you talking about? I came looking for you because-"

Uryū shook away Ichigo's hold on him. "Because you wanted to tell me in person that you want me to leave your home!"

Ichigo was getting frustrated at how Uryū was falsely accusing things that never crossed his mind. "Ishida, everything your saying is not true! Where are you getting all that crap from?"

Uryū gave a chilly chuckle. "From you. When I was going to head into the room, I heard every word you said to Inoue. And you know what; I could care less about you too." Uryū began walking away.

Ichigo stayed still, not being able to understand the situation. "No, I don't believe you care less about me at all. Because last night-"

Uryū turned around and stared at Ichigo's back. "Was another mistake on my part! If I could I would go back in time and never let it happen!"

Turning around, Ichigo had his fists tightly clenched. "No! If you could, you would never take it back! Because deep down, you know you liked it." Out of nowhere, Ichigo found himself on the floor with an ache on his cheek. He looked up at the panting Quincy.

"Shut up… shut up… just shut up. I don't want to hear it anymore, just leave me alone." Uryū began walking away, not once looking at the painful expression that Ichigo is showing. But he didn't get far; he felt a hand hold his wrist firmly.

"Any other day, I would leave you alone. But not today, not until you tell me how you feel, and I won't go away, no matter how much you hurt me."

Ichigo was on his knees as he held on to Uryū's wrist, as if his life depended on it. Letting go would mean that he gave up on ever having Uryū apart of his life. It would mean that he would be separated from him without knowing the truth about his feelings. That is not acceptable.

Uryū felt that he was losing an inner battle within himself. How could he lie to someone that is desperately holding on to him? How could he lie to, Kurosaki? In a whispered voice he replied, "I don't hate you. But, I don't like you as a friend either." Uryū felt Ichigo's grip beginning to loosen. "I like you more than a friend, Kurosaki."

Ichigo tightened his hold once he heard that. "Turn around and tell me that straight to my face."

Uryū didn't move.

"Turn around and tell that straight to my face, please."

Hearing Ichigo plea moved something inside him. He began turning around and stared at Ichigo's eyes. "I like you more than a friend." He then fell on top of the kneeling form of Ichigo's, but was caught in his strong arms. Both men were kneeling on the ground; Ichigo was holding Uryū as if he would disappear at any moment, while Uryū kept his arms by his side, not trusting them at the moment.

Ichigo placed his head at the crook of Uryū's neck. "I like you more than a friend as well, Uryū." Then he grabbed the Quincy's face in both his hands, and brought it to his. Smashing their lips together and keeping Uryū's face in place, not wanting him to escape. But Uryū didn't fight back; instead he deepened the kiss, as he opened his mouth and allowed his tongue to search for his. Uryū brought his arms up, and held Ichigo's back, and then he moved one of them to the back of his neck, playing with the hairs that resided there. Ichigo had one hand on his face while the other rested on his back, trying to bring him closer to his body if possible.

Uryū felt that Ichigo was beginning to be adventures, as one of his hands began lifting up his shirt in the search for more skin to skin contact. He broke the kiss once Ichigo brought it to his zipper. Panting from the lack of air, he brought Ichigo's face to look at his own. "Not here."

Ichigo stared at his deep blue eyes which were filled with lust. "Then come back home with me, I want you, Uryū. Only you."

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><p><strong>AN: Happy Birthday Uryū Ishida! I wished I could have made a one shot but I hope this update will make up for that.**

**Please leave a review!**


	12. Make Love

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! **

**Warning: M scene**

**Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Make Love<p>

Ichigo was pretty sure that he was two times the physical strength of Uryū. But then why was he under the young archer who was kissing away at his neck. _Damn! This-ah! Bastard-ungh… how can he-ah… move his-unh… tongue like _this_?_

Uryū came up and grabbed Ichigo's head with both his hands, he leaned down having his face two inches away from his. "Stop thinking, Kurosaki, it doesn't suite you." Before Ichigo could retort a reply, Uryū quickly caught Ichigo's lips in a fierce lip lock.

Not even making it two feet into the room, and already they were going at it like a couple of horny teenage boys. The moment they left the sight of the waterfall, Uryū and Ichigo ran like their life depended on it back to their apartment. Of course they were allot of people staring at them run by, but that didn't matter, the stares didn't matter, their opinion didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was that they were finally having their special moment.

A moment that would not be taken away from them, nor ruined by anyone trying to interrupt them, no one would be able to come and try to part them away from one another. They would fight through anyone who would dare come between the Quincy and the Shinigami. This is their time and they're not going to let it pass by.

Ichigo fought to pry Uryū off of him, but the Quincy rammed his hips down, which in turn made Ichigo give a loud moan. "I-Ishida," grunting the name out, as if he was in agony, "bed," and in an instance, Uryū picked up Ichigo from the floor and made his way into his room. He dropped Ichigo on his small bed, and he made an "oof" sound as he landed.

Ichigo looked at Uryū with wide eyes. "Where the hell did you get the muscles?" exclaiming in a high tone, as he watched him hurry back and close the door, making sure to lock it. Once he did, Uryū looked at him with a look that would usually be made for a predator looking at his prey.

Uryū was slightly panting at the thought at what was going to happen next, he looked at Ichigo and gave him a slight glare. "Get naked."

"WHAT!" Ichigo backed up to the wall of the bedroom, and was beginning to worry about his well-being. He looked at Uryū to see if he was kidding but the look that he was sending him made him doubt that he was.

Seeing as the Shinigami backed up till he hit the wall sent a small shiver down his spine. _Damn, why did he have to hit the wall so hard with his back? It's making me lose the last remaining bit of sanity I have left._ He slowly walked forward and on his way, he was taking off his belt buckle to loosen his pants. "I won't ask you again, Kurosaki. Take off your clothes."

Ichigo was beginning to be uncertain about anything that will transpire after he takes off his clothes. "And if I don't?" Testing the waters to see how far the Quincy is willing to do, somehow though, he already had a feeling at what he was going to respond. He just wanted him to use that sexy tome of his once more. Oddly enough, it was some sort of a turn on for Ichigo.

Uryū licked his lips and pulled out his belt from the belt loops. "Then I am going to force you into submission and rip them off."

Now it was Ichigo's turn to feel a shiver go down his spine,_ why do I think I rather chose the last option, and why did he have to make his voice go into that sexy hoarse voice again? I'm not going to last long._ "You won't."

Next thing he knew, Uryū lunged at him, making his position be under the archer while he was on top of him, having both his knees situated on either side of his hips. Uryū saw that Ichigo was wearing a buttoned up shirt, and took this to his advantage. He grabbed the shirt from the middle and then ripped the shirt, making buttons fly everywhere in the room. Now Uryū could see the tanned skin and chiseled chest that belonged to Ichigo Kurosaki.

Fear was running down Ichigo with a hint of excitement, for some strange reason, he wanted to see Uryū just let go and go wild. What better way than to try it on him. He looked up to Uryū and saw that his eyes became dilated with lust. "Like what you see?"

Uryū shook his head, still keeping his eyes on Ichigo's chest. "No, love," then he attacked his chest with kisses. Making sure that he didn't miss a spot, he started were his skin made contact with his pants and then started upwards. Leaving a hint of saliva behind as he kissed the flesh and then lapped at it when he finished. Ichigo flinched at the wet appendage that was having his way with one of his nipples.

Ichigo raised his hands and began tugging on Uryū's shirt, but to his surprise, Uryū grabbed his hands in a tight hold. "What do you think you're doing?" slightly glaring at Ichigo.

"I'm thinking that it's not fair that I'm the only one without a shirt here."

Ichigo knew he had a point but Uryū looked like he was trying to come up with some sort of an excuse for him to keep his shirt on. "It's cold and I rather keep it on."

_Yup, how could I not see this coming? _

"Then we could get under the sheets," offered Ichigo who was trying to figure out why he didn't want to take off his shirt.

"But then the sheets will get to be too bothersome to move around."

_Now I'm sure he's trying to make up excuses._

Using his strength, Ichigo flipped their positions, now Uryū was under him, and he was on top of him. Uryū was surprised at first but quickly tried to struggle away from him. Ichigo grabbed hold of his arms that were pushing at his chest and placed them over the archer's head. "Why won't you let me take off your shirt? I kinda know that you have a sexy body, so why try to hide it away from me?"

Uryū gave a small blush at what Ichigo said. "I just don't think it's necessary for me to take off my shirt for intercourse."

Ichigo was bewildered at what he said. "Intercourse? Ishida, I think if you're going to have it then you can say it."

The Quincy glared at him. "I'm not going to call this "sex" that word sounds like a slut who is getting paid, nor am I going to say "fuck" because that word sounds like a pair of barbarians are going at it."

"Idiot, I didn't mean any of those words!"

Now it was Uryū's turn to be confused. "Oh, so what did you mean?"

Ichigo's eyes softened as he stared into Uryū's sapphire eyes. "Make love." Saying it in a whispered voice so only he and Uryū could hear it.

"Make love." Said Uryū as he was trying out how the word sounded in his mouth. It was a far better word than intercourse, and it sounded very intimate. It's better than calling it those dirty words he just ran by. It also gave him the secure sense that this wasn't some one night stand situation. It made him secure about his decision on having a life with the crazy orange-head he has known for more than he can remember. He wants a life with him, and not just a quick fun time, he wants a relationship in which he can share his most intimate thoughts with, and he wants this all with Ichigo Kurosaki, only him.

Uryū's eyes softened as he stared at the young man above him. "I just don't want you to see my mark," whispering in a timid voice of insecurity.

"That mark is some sort of Quincy thing, isn't it?"

He nodded and looked up to one of his arms, the arm that held his Quincy bracelet that was resting on the bed. "That mark is a reminder of how pathetic I am."

He felt Ichigo tightened his hold on his arms. "No, you are not pathetic, Ishida. Mark or no mark, it doesn't make what you are; you're the one that makes what you are. And to me, you are the most amazing, passionate, intelligent, and strongest Quincy I have ever known."

At that moment, Uryū felt like a dam just exploded within him and all his insecurity washed away. He knew know that he wanted this man, wanted him to posses him, wanted him to love him, but most importantly, he wanted him inside him. Uryū looked at Ichigo with a determined look on his face. "Kurosaki, make love to me."

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><p>"Ryu-chan!" Whined Isshin as Ryūken began pushing him out of his office.<p>

"No, now get out. You'll only be a distraction if I let you stay here."

Isshin grabbed hold with both his hands, the edges of the door, making it more difficult for Ryūken to push him out, as he was using both his arms to shove the stubborn man out.

"But I'll be alone all day since no one is at home!"

"I don't care about your personal issues. Now get out!"

Isshin was still trying desperately to hold on to the edges of the door, until he heard a familiar sound. He opened his eyes and saw a young nurse with a clipboard looking around the hallways. Isshin's eyes widened and he started struggling to get back inside the room.

"Ryūken let me back inside!"

Ryūken was surprised at the man's urgency but still kept forcing him out of his door. "I told you no. Now-"

"Please I'll do anything!"

Ryūken thought about it a bit, and decided to let the man in. Once he stopped forcing him out, Isshin quickly closed the door and locked it, placing his ear on the door to hear anyone go by.

Ryūken crossed his arms and frowned at Isshin as he was glued to the door and trying to hear something on the other side.

"Phew, she passed by. I was close to being discovered." Isshin backed up from the door but was still looking at the door as if something was going to break it down.

Ryūken was beginning to get annoyed. "What are you talking about?"

Isshin gave a small shiver at the thought of the woman. "I'm talking about the nurse that works here, the one that wears stilettos, and carries a clipboard with a sticker of a cat on the back."

"You mean the one that helps the visitors to get to the room of the appointed patient, what about her?"

Isshin backed up onto the bed that he usually stays on and got on it. Laying on his side and letting out a small yawn. "Last time I was here she tried to ask me out, and like the gentleman that I am, I happily declined her offer and let her down easy."

"But…"

"But, she didn't take no for an answer and every time I came here that nurse goes out of her way to try to seduce me with the most skimpiest of nurses outfit. I mean are nurses here allowed to wear a nurse outfit that is higher than their knees! You really are slaking off, Ryu-chan."

Ryūken's eye twitched and he adjusted his glasses as he frowned at the man who seemed happily to be on the small bed again. "You said you'll do anything, didn't you?"

Isshin's eyes popped open from having been closed and he stared at the man with the slight frown on his face. "Uh, well considering the circumstances-"

"No, you said you'll do anything, Kurosaki. Or we're you just lying to me." Sounding threatening if Isshin was lying to him. Ryūken looked like he was ready to summon his bow if the man was indeed lying.

Isshin gave a small chuckle seeing as he was becoming nervous of the man who would easily try to fire a barrage of arrows if he gave him a wrong answer. "Y-yeah, but why-"

"Then you'll have no problem going to the store and buy something for me."

Isshin calmed back down at hearing the request. "Buy? Why, is your birthday? Do you want another tie again-"

Ryūken placed his hand over the man's mouth. "Listen carefully because I won't repeat myself again. I want you to go buy something very specific which I know that you know what it is, and then meet me outside of the hospital, got it?" Not removing his hand from Isshin's mouth and merely moving his head up and down in a nodding motion. "Good, now get out."

Isshin looked over to Ryūken who sat back down on his seat, and once again began looking through his files. Without saying a word he headed out, and closed the door. Isshin was almost in a trance the whole time he walked out of the hospital.

Ryūken watched from the corner of his eyes to make sure that he left, and grabbed his phone that was on the side. "Yes, I want the young woman with the blond hair fired. Oh, and if she asks, tell her that she should have been doing her job and not trying to seduce visitors." He then hanged up the phone before he could get a response.

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><p>"Wait!"<p>

Uryū was shook by Ichigo's out of nowhere comment. "What why? I thought we we're ready for this, if this is about my shirt I already told you that I can take it off now-"

Ichigo shook his head, and got off of Uryū. "It's not that. I just remembered that we can't have sex without some lubricant I don't want to hurt you in our first time." Ichigo began looking for a new shirt to wear.

"You don't have any?"

Ichigo placed the shirt over his head muffling something that sounded like, "of course not!"

Uryū watched as Ichigo began placing on his pants back on which were discarded with his pants lying right next to them. "Well, how long are you going to be gone? I'm not going to wait all day for you to return in just a shirt and some boxers, Kurosaki."

Ichigo grabbed his wallet that was lying on his nightstand and inserted it in his back pocket. "Don't worry I'll be back soon. Just don't get dressed and try to be patient. Oh, before I go which type do you want me to get?"

Uryū blushed at being able to pick out a scented lube. "Well, why don't you buy something fruity?" Seeming unsure on how Ichigo would take his request.

"Sure, what flavor?"

The young Quincy began fidgeting with the blanket that he made. "Um, strawberry."

Ichigo blinked his eyes at his response wondering if he was playing with him, but seeing as Uryū's face intensified to a shade of red, he knew that he wasn't kidding. "Okay, then I'll be right back." Ichigo moved closer to the man that resembled a strawberry himself and grabbed his chin to make sure that he looked at him. He then leaned in and kissed Uryū deeply, "I'll be back soon." Ichigo then headed out of the room, leaving a happy Quincy behind as he placed his hand over his lips.

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><p>Isshin ran to the nearest market and began looking around a specific isle to find what he was looking for. <em>Okay, now which was his most preferred flavor? Oh now I remember!<em> Isshin quickly scanned the counters and found what he was looking for. He smiled at finding it and went to grab the small bottle. He then headed to the counter to pay the merchandise. _It's been far too long since Ryu-chan, and I did something like this! Maybe it's because he wants some companionship, I really do want to spend some time with Ryūken. _

Isshin paid the nice lady and took his purchase and began to head out. Not once noticing that an orange-head was in the same isle as he was before. He left the store and walked to the direction of the hospital once again. But this time he finally had a reason to go visit Ryūken.

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><p>Ichigo looked through the isle and found that they did have a strawberry flavored lubricant. He grabbed it and went to check out. Once he paid the lady he began heading back to his apartment and took notice that it was beginning to get late.<p>

"Huh, the sun seems to be going down. It's already that late and here I thought it was still around morning." Ichigo inserted one of his hands into his pocket while he carried the small bag which contained his purchase in the other. _I can't believe I'm finally going to become a man! And with Ishida!_

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><p>"Sir, you're not allowed without an appointment!" Insisted the receptionist in the front counter, but Isshin again went by her with a huge grin on his face.<p>

"I do have an appointment!" saying it as he rushed by the receptionist. He headed back to the room which he was very acquainted with by now. He knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Wait outside of the hospital and don't do anything stupid." came the voice of Ryūken from behind the closed door.

Isshin merely put it off and headed out of the building. Nothing could be able to ruin his good mood. He waited for what seemed like twenty minutes and then he heard the receptionist complain.

"Director, you can't leave the hospital yet! It's not closing time!"

Ryūken came out of the building and began untying his tie by pulling on it. He walked over to his car and waited for Isshin to get to the other side. Once he entered he puts up his hand to signal for Isshin not to talk. The whole ride neither said a word.

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><p>Ichigo opened the door with his key and once he entered he noticed that all the rooms were dark. He tossed his keys to the dinner table and began looking around the room. "Uh, Ishida wh-"<p>

He saw that the door to his room opened and there was a dim light coming from within the room. _Now this just looks like some weird horror movie scene. _Ichigo began walking to the door and once he was inside the room he was surprised to see that there were three scented candles lit up. He remembered that he got them from Yuzu but he has never used them before, the whole room smelled very sweet.

Ichigo jumped when he felt a pair of arms go around his waist. "Sorry, I just thought that it would seem a bit… romantic."

"Well, it those seem a bit out of character for you, but I'm not complaining."

"I just wanted to thank you for being able to accept me for who I am and being able to put up with all my crap. I know that I could be handful."

Uryū sounded very sincere that Ichigo began feeling something inside him burst. "Let's not waist any more time just standing here then and do-um-go back to what we were doing before."

"Heh, I think if you're going to have it then you can say it, Kurosaki."

Ichigo turned around and looked at the young Quincy only dressed in his boxers. "I want to make love to you." Uryū nodded and that was all Ichigo needed for him to pick him up by his legs and carry him over to the bed. He gently laid him down and before he could join him, Ichigo closed the door and locked it.

When he turned around he saw the most mouth-watering image. Uryū was leaning on his elbows while he had a smile on his face. His whole body looked very delicate and soft. Never mind the mark he has in the middle of his chest everything else looks delicious. Ichigo began taking his shirt off and dropped it soundlessly on the floor. He walked closer to the bed and settled himself on it with his knees. Uryū began blushing as he stared at the orange-head.

Once Ichigo lowered himself over him, Uryū linked his arms over his head and brought him down. Uryū's lips made contact with Ichigo's and they began a dazzling dance that only their lips' knew. Ichigo began moving his hands over the soft body of Uryū and felt him shiver from the contact he was making. He moved back but was pulled back in as Uryū didn't want to part from the person that was bringing him intense pleasure. "Stop, Ishida." Ichigo pulled back and walked over to the discarded bottle on the floor.

He brought the bottle with him to the bed and placed it on the side. "Just in case." Uryū looked like he was beginning to get irritated with all the distractions.

"Maybe we should do something before I die of boredom here, Kurosaki." Ichigo was surprised but he expected something like this.

"Whatever." Then he began unbuckling his belt and then unzipping his pants. "More?" Uryū nodded as he was transfixed on the object of his desire. Ichigo hurried to remove the rest of his pants leaving him only in his black boxers like Uryū.

Both looked at each other's bodies and tried to memorize the images into their brain. Uryū saw that Ichigo looked a bit uncertain as he stared at his boxers. He brought Ichigo's hands to the waist of his boxers and together they began sliding them off. Now Uryū was without his boxers making him completely bare for Ichigo to see.

"You're beautiful." Then Ichigo began kissing away at any skin he saw. Starting from his cheek down to his neck, Uryū moved his head to the side giving him more room. Ichigo planted kisses everywhere he could until he began to venture down onto his chest, and began to suck his nipple while his hand busied itself with the neglected nipple. Uryū began thrashing around for being consumed in so much passion.

"K-Kurosaki please-I-need-you now!" No longer being able to stand the tortuous pleasure, Uryū brought his face towards him and kissed him as deeply as possible. "Now, do it now!" Ichigo was finally coming down from his high and reached for the lube on the side. Uryū hurriedly began taking off Ichigo's boxers, once they were discarded Ichigo opened the lube and placed some on his hand. Uryū reached for his lubed hand and took some from it, and then he began reaching for Ichigo's cock as he started palming it. It was Ichigo's turn to thrash around as he let the Quincy lube up his cock. Once Uryū thought he was ready, he released him and began preparing himself.

"N-no, let me do it." Ichigo took over of preparing the wide eyed Quincy. He began by inserting one finger in and then he inserted two. Uryū urged for him to start moving his fingers, but once he did Uryū was seeing white as he moaned at the immense pleasure.

"Ahhh! M-more!" he thrashed around and thrust his hips as he felt Ichigo hit something inside him. "Ahh! There, right there!" Ichigo knew he hit his prostate and increased his pace. "S-stop!" Ichigo stopped and took out his fingers as he began to settle himself over the archer who was panting.

Ichigo was aligning himself to fit the Quincy; once he was ready he looked over to Uryū for authorization. When Uryū nodded his head, Ichigo began to insert his cock inside the lean body of the archer. Uryū gritted his teeth once Ichigo was sheathed inside his body in one swoop. "So tight." grunted out Ichigo from clenching his teeth so tightly. He pulled out and then he rammed him once more. Uryū shook from the impact of the thrust; he opened his eyes and saw that Ichigo had his eyes half lidded, lost in the pleasure from being inside him. Uryū wrapped his legs around Ichigo to make him go deeper; this caused the orange-head to moan very loudly.

Ichigo rammed his hips down and pulled out to repeat his movements once again. Each time hitting Uryū's prostate which made him moan and clench his back for every thrust he made. "Ah! I'm close-so close!"

"M-me too! Hold on a little bit longer!" Ichigo quickened his pace and plunged in deeper. The last couple of thrust was all Uryū could take before shouting into Ichigo's mouth as he kissed him to make sure no one heard their love making. "Ahh! Uryū!" Ichigo's seed entered the Quincy while Uryū let his semen out on the bed and on his chest. The bed soon stopped creaking from the motion and two exhausted bodies lay glistening with sweat.

Still inside Uryū, Ichigo moved to get out and lay on his side. Uryū turned on his side to face the lightly panting Shinigami. "Y-you said my name."

"Tch, you sa-said mine too, pretty loud also."

Uryū let out a small chuckle and felt himself be pulled closer to Ichigo's body. He let himself settle closer to him and intertwined their legs as Uryū's head rested on the orange-heads chest. Ichigo felt him shiver, "are you cold?" Uryū shook his head and just moved closer to the warm body. Ichigo reached for the disheveled bed sheet and placed it over their body. Soon both of them fell into a peaceful sleep.

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the late update! My sister has been taking me from store to store for early Christmas shopping leaving me with no time when I get home.**

**So Please Review!**


	13. Decision

**A/N: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Decision<p>

Ichigo began to flutter his eyes open; he then rested on the headboard and did a quick stretch. _Oh shit! I almost woke him up._ He looked down at the sleeping Quincy who had moved off his chest to snuggle to his side.

"Ku...ro…ki…"

Ichigo gave a small smile as Uryū mumbled his name out in his dreams. _You know, last night was very beautiful, I don't think I ever experienced anything like that before. But I also had a dream; I remembered when me and my family would go out and have a picnic. Even my mom was there, she was smiling, and I never had the most perfect dream than that. All I want to say is thank you, Uryū._ He began to settle back down into the sheets and let Uryū get closer once he was back into his original position. Closing his eyes, Ichigo had a warm smile on his face as he drifted away.

Not too long, Uryū began opening his eyes. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, he then looked over to the snoring Shinigami. _He seems relaxed. _Uryū then began to remember what he dreamt of during the night.

"**Sensei, Grandfather! Where are you?" A young Uryū began crying as he stopped his search in a deep forest he once remembered seeing his grandfather. He fell down into his knees and continued crying.**

"**Don't cry."**

**Uryū was startled by the voice and looked up to find the person who was talking to him. He was mesmerized by the orange hair standing out from the tall man who was crouching down to be at his level.**

"**Hey, its okay, I won't let you be alone anymore." He reached out with his hand for Uryū to take it in his small hand. **

**Uryū looked down, "I don't have a choice," he states as a fact as he began to reach out to the hand.**

**The man smiled, "nope," and took his small hand in his.**

_Weird, Kurosaki popping into one of my dreams like that. I usually have nightmares but now, now was the first time I had a… sweet dream. Thank you, Ichigo._ Uryū began settling himself near Ichigo and he soon was wrapped in the arms of his lover. He closed his eyes and drifted away to his dream world.

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><p>"Why did you let her walk away, Kioshi? She obviously wanted to say yes." Takeshi said to Kioshi with a frown on his face.<p>

Kioshi looked away and closed his eyes. "You are to repulsive to look at, do you know that, Takeshi?"

"What you say-"

"And I didn't let her walk away, I already knew what her _real_ answer was, I could see it in her eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul. All we need to do now is wait, or at least until Kenshin-sama gives an order, for now we just watch and follow the Shinigami and Quincy."

Takeshi was beginning to get annoyed with his _partner_, heck; he never really liked him to begin with. Especially that power he had, he definitely knew that he couldn't trust Kioshi at all. _Damn, why did Kenshin had to place me with the most-_

"Is something the matter, Takeshi? You seemed to have spaced out for a bit."

Takeshi frowned. "Not at all, let's go."

_I have to be careful with this guy, or else I might lose my sanity._

* * *

><p>Uryū stirred in his sleep when he heard crashing sounds coming from the kitchen. He sat up and began searching for his glasses, once he found then he placed them on his face and began to stand up.<p>

"No, sit back down!"

Uryū was startled as Ichigo quickly came back into the room and pushed him back onto the mattress. "Wha-what are you doing, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo stood back up after placing Uryū back onto the bed. "You're aching so I took the liberty in making you breakfast in bed, it's the least I could do."

Uryū began turning red at the reminder of his sore behind. "Don't treat me like some kind of girl, Kurosaki! I do-mmmphh."

Uryū was quieted as Ichigo leaned forward and kissed him passionately, sticking out his tongue so that it could enter the warm cavern of the Quincy, which he gladly gave him entrance to as he began to stick his own tongue into Ichigo's mouth. When Ichigo felt that Uryū was mush, he broke the kiss and pushed Uryū back into a laying down position on the bed. He then left the room to go retrieve their breakfast.

Uryū stayed on the bed as he was still feeling the passion of the kiss he was just given. _Please don't let this be a dream!_ When he heard footsteps come closer, he looked over to the door and noticed that Ichigo was carrying a tray filled with pancakes, bacon, bread, and two cups of juice.

Ichigo frowned. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" saying it as he began sitting up and leaned on the headboard.

Ichigo walked to the other side of the bed and sat on the extra space, placing the tray in between the two. "Like 'what the hell is he doing' look."

Uryū reached out for a piece of bacon. "I have a look?" he then munched on the piece of bacon.

"Yeah, if you put enough attention to it," Ichigo then stopped talking as he also grabbed a piece of bacon and inserted the whole thing into his mouth.

Uryū was astonished at the taste of the bacon. "Kurosaki, this is pretty good! I didn't know you could cook so well."

Ichigo grabbed another piece of bacon. "Yeah, well I never had a problem cooking before, I mean Yuzu always cooked but I would watch her sometimes."

Uryū went to grab a piece of a pancake and ripped it in half, he then began chewing on that too, and was still surprised at how well Ichigo could cook. _This is pretty nice; I never once shared a morning like this before. I like it, I like sharing this with him._

Soon, all the food was gone as the two men began to stand up from the bed, Uryū kept the bed sheets wrapped around his nude figure as he walked to grab his clothes for the day. Ichigo went into the bathroom and began taking a shower. After a while both stood in the living room with their book bags over their shoulders.

"I kinda wish we didn't have school today." Whined Ichigo as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well, we have a job to do, so let's just get it over with. I don't want to miss anymore days."

They both headed out of the apartment, and began their walk to their school.

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><p><em>I hate this I hate this I hate this I HATE THIS!<em>

Ichigo was clenching his pencil so hard that it was beginning to crack from the pressure placed on it. Ever since he and Uryū arrived to school, he couldn't understand what the professor was talking about at all. When he looked over to Uryū, he could tell that he was struggling to also understand the concept of the lesson. But somehow he knew that Uryū was bound to understand once he got the hang of it. But Ichigo was not in any way good at remembering the functions of the body, heck he couldn't even remember where the damn funny bone was located at. _I'm screwed._

Once the bell rang signaling that it was lunch time, Ichigo had already broken three pencils as his gripped never loosened, he didn't even notice Uryū walk over to him. Uryū waved his hand in front of Ichigo's face but he didn't get any reaction. Then Uryū moved to plan b, he took his book in his hand, and slapped Ichigo straight in the face with full force.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Replied Ichigo as he was holding his now sore red cheek.

Uryū pushed his glasses up, and looked down to the angry Shinigami. "You weren't paying attention, Kurosaki. So I thought a good smack was in dire need."

Ichigo frowned at how Uryū was able to say all that with a straight face, _creepy four-eyes._ "Whatever, let's go, I'm hungry."

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><p>Both Ichigo and Uryū were settled on the floor of the roof, being the only ones on the roof it made things calmer. But Ichigo's mind was somewhere else. Uryū took notice at how Ichigo's face seemed a bit more serious.<p>

"What are you thinking about, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo looked over to Uryū and then looked away from him. "I was thinking about that guy who came here trying to kill you."

Uryū was confused at why Ichigo would bring something like that up, he definitely wanted to forget about the whole thing, but he knew that there was no escaping what happened. "You're talking about that man that used a strange tree power, correct?"

Ichigo nodded, "he knew that I was a Shinigami, and not just that, but he also knew that you are a Quincy. But I don't understand why he would want to eliminate you; did he ever say anything to you before I arrived?"

Uryū began remembering the words he was barely able to hear,_ my name is Mikio the trunk of this tree, and the man who shall set you free from your sin_. Sin, that's the only word that stood out to him. Could the man named Mikio be talking about his sexual preferences? _It's better if I didn't tell Kurosaki, just to be sure._

"Sorry, but I was falling unconscious and couldn't tell what he was saying. Let's just forget about this whole scandal and save it for another time." Uryū went back to eating his food as Ichigo still kept his frown on his face.

_Why do I feel like you're hiding something from me, Ishida?_

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><p>Takeshi was getting annoyed at just seeing the Quincy and Shinigami just eat on the rooftop. "Argh, this is so boring."<p>

Kioshi looked at the two men on the roof with half lidded eyes. "Please, do try to restrain yourself, Takeshi. The last thing I need is to cover crowed control, remember, we are here because Kenshin-sama asked us to come here for a while and keep watch on the two."

"Well this is pointless and boring. I rather just go down there and beat the living life out of those two."

Before Kioshi could respond to him, both their badges inside their cotes began glowing. Kioshi took his out and placed it over his ear.

The voice of Kenshin rang in his ear. "There's been a change of plans, report back as soon as possible."

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><p><strong>AN: Please leave a review! I'll most likely be updating more often for some time!**


	14. The Time For Talking Is Over

**A/N: Thank you to all that reviewed!**

**Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>The Time For Talking Is Over<p>

"Mikio?"

Mikio looked up from his work. "Yes, Kenshin-sama?"

Kenshin looked down at his work as the glow from his seed began to falter. "How is progress coming along with your seed, I do hope that the damage you inflected on the Quincy was enough to put our plan into motion."

Mikio solemnly looked down at his work. "Yes."

Kenshin smiled and ruffled Mikio's hair. "Come now, smile, Mikio. Does it not please you that were close to reaching our goal?"

Mikio was beginning to turn red from the hand still on his head as it weaved through his dark hair. "I-if it pleases you then it pleases me, Kenshin-sama."

"Mikio how many times do I need to remind you, it's just, Kenshin."

_No. It's not just Kenshin, not anymore._

Kenshin backed away from him and began walking away. "Hurry up or you'll be late to the meeting." He called back from how far he already was.

Mikio looked over to Kenshin's disappearing form as he walked farther away from him. _It's always going to be like this. The distance will never stop growing, no matter how hard I try to keep up. But as long as I'm able to make your dream come true, I'll do everything in my power to make it a reality. No matter if that young Quincy boy would suffer._

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><p>Mikio, Tadashi, Takehiko, Hiromi, Yoshito, Norio, Toshio, Masaru, Kenji, and Akihiko were all seated on the oval table as Kenshin was seated in the middle. Kenshin had his hand on his cheek as it was propped up on the table. "Finally, I thought you'll never get here."<p>

Takeshi and Kioshi entered the room and took a seat. Kenshin eyed the two who entered. "So, what have you learned?"

Takeshi looked away and crossed his arms. "That it was boring from day one."

Kenshin smiled and looked over to Kioshi. "And you, what did you learn?"

Kioshi looked over to Kenshin giving him a suspicious look. "A girl, by the name Inoue Orihime is supposedly a friend of the Quincy and Shinigami. She also seems infatuated with said Shinigami."

"Wow, how interesting, Inoue Orihime. Hmm, she looks like a perfect pawn to move into the board. Now choosing how to use her, well, I think you already have that figured out, don't you, Kioshi?"

Kioshi closed his eyes and then looked back up to Kenshin. "Considering that her life revolves around protecting her friends, I would say she is the most weakest but also the most emotional. I also have another piece of information to add," Kenshin brought his attention to Kioshi once more, "It seems that she is also acquainted with more Shinigami than I had expected."

Everyone brought their attention to Kioshi as his information intrigued them all. "From squad 6: Byakuya Kuchiki, Renji Abarai, from squad 8: Shunsui Kyōraku, Nanao Ise, from squad 10: Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Rangiku Matsumoto, from squad 11: Kenpachi Zaraki, Yachiru Kusajishi, Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, from squad 13: Rukia Kuchiki, Jūshirō Ukitake. That is all the information I was able to gather."

"And in your opinion, which of these is the girl most closes to?"

"I would say squad 13: Rukia Kuchiki."

Kenshin places both his elbows on the table and crossed his fingers in thought. "Very well, I guess it is time we look beyond our horizon and scavenge for more. I guess there's no avoiding it, Mikio," Kenshin looked over to him, "I want you to go back to Karakura and spread more of your seed's influence on the people. It seems that the towns beginning to wonder why there still standing outside looking at people suspiciously. So I want you to make sure their head is… clear on any doubts they may have, understood?"

Mikio had an unsure look on his face, "but if my seed has a hold of them now, it would make it more agonizing for human bodies to handle such a force."

Kenshin gave a warm smile to Mikio. "Mikio, you're conveying that I _care_ for some lowly humans? I have never given any single one of you lies about not hurting anyone during this _revolution_. Have I?" No one answered which made his smile widened. "No, I don't think I have, besides, no one knows that you are the one who has such a strong influence on half of the people of Karakura Town. Also, I have my suspicions about this Quincy and Shinigami, so why not let the towns' people resolve it for us."

Mikio nodded in understanding and stood up. "I will go as soon as possible." He then began leaving the room.

Kenshin brought his attention on Takeshi. "Takeshi, you, Norio, and Masaru will infiltrate the Soul Society, but I warn you, make no contact with any of those Shinigami. Your reiatsu is more likely to be nonexistent to any of them, and you all must follow Masaru's orders as followed. The rest of us will stay here and contact you if anything comes up; if neither of us calls you then you stay put. That is all."

Takeshi, Norio, and Masaru left the table, now only leaving Yoshito, Takehiko, Tadashi, Toshio, Kenji, Kioshi, Hiromi, and Akihiko in the room.

Kenshin stood up from the table and looked over to Kioshi who had his eyes closed. "You know what to do."

That being said, Kioshi stood up and took his leave, leaving everyone else confused until Kenshin cleared it up for them. "He's headed for Karakura Town."

Hiromi brought his azure eyes over to Kenshin. "Whatever for, I mean is there a reason for him to go there? Isn't Mikio enough to handle Karakura Town by himself?"

"He isn't going because of that, he's going on a… special assignment, a trump card if you will. I told you that this Inoue has already been moved into the board, and only he can be the one to move her at his will." _Because no one can escape from a world filed with fantasies and crush it at the same time._

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><p><strong>AN: A quick filler to get the plot moving and to see where everyone stands at the moment. Forgive me if this chapter has confused anyone, I'll try to make it clearer if you do not understand.**

**Meaning:**

**Akihiko: bright/shining prince.**

**Kenji: intelligent ruler.**

**Masaru: intelligent; victorious.**

**Norio: man of principles.**

**Yoshito: lucky man.**

**Takehiko: soldier prince.**

**Tadashi: correct; loyal; righteous.**

**And yes, there is a reason for their meaning of their names, which is one of the reasons I spend about two hours looking it up. So please leave a review. Updates will be somewhat faster.**


	15. Behind Closed Doors Lie A Secret

**A/N: Sooooooooooooo SORRY for the SUPER LATE UPDATE!**

**I became busy with personal issues that I had to place this fic to the side for a while. Please don't hate me!**

**I'll try to update again soon, but I really wished that I could update more often than… this. **

**Any who…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Behind Closed Doors Lie A Secret<p>

"Howl, Zabimaru!" Renji attacked Rukia with his Zabimaru after it turned into its shikai. Rukia easily dodged it and placed her Zanpakutō out in front of her body.

She began turning her Zanpakutō in a circle, counter-clockwise. "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!" her Zanpakutō began turning completely white with a white ribbon forming from the pommel. She then pointed her Zanpakutō in front of her and took a battle stance and soon ice particles began to flow up. "Tsugi no mai, Hakuren!" a powerful pure white wave of ice came out of Sode no Shirayuki.

Renji saw that the attack was aimed right at him. "Shit!" he quickly shunpoed out of the way just in time to escape the attack. He landed on top of a large rock behind Rukia. "Hey, watch were you pointing that thing, Rukia!"

She turned around and smiled. "Sorry, but our enemies won't be taking it easy on us either, Renji."

Renji smirked; _she's right, well, in that case!_ "Ban-"

"Rukia."

Both Renji and Rukia stopped their fighting and turned around when they heard a stern voice. There on top of a landscape stood Byakuya Kuchiki looking over their battle with the same expressionless stare he always has. His eyes were narrowing a little towards Renji as he knew what he was about to do.

"Come, Rukia, we are leaving." He turned around not waiting for an explanation for his actions, and began to walk away.

Renji looked on at were his Taichou used to stood and then turned his gaze towards Rukia. She looked like she was mesmerized at where Kuchiki-Taichou stood at, as her gaze was half-lidded and her grip on her Zanpakutō became looser that anyone could walk by and take her Zanpakutō away without having to struggle.

Renji was beginning to worry about her weird stance. "Uh, Rukia, are you okay?"

Rukia came out of her daze and quickly looked over to Renji, she laughed nervously. "O-of course, Renji! Let's spar some other time; I better catch up with nii-sama!" Without saying another word, she sheathed her Zanpakutō and ran over to where the ledge was, disappearing from Renji's view.

Renji looked bewildered at what just transpired. "What was that about? She looked like she was looking at some famous painting." _Well, it is Kuchiki-Taichou. But… for some time now, Rukia and Kuchiki-Taichou have been acting strange, Taichou has been finishing up his work faster than usual and then he would go to the Thirteen Division and wait for her to finish her paper work. I wonder what's going on with those two; I just hope it's not something bad._ Renji sheathed his Zanpakutō and began heading out of the sparing grounds.

* * *

><p>Rukia quickly caught up with Byakuya, and as they walked, both were completely quite until Rukia started to feel a bit uncomfortable with all the silence. <em>Did I do something wrong?<em> Rukia opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted.

"You forgot didn't you?"

Rukia was bewildered by the response that he made. _Forgot? Forgot what? _She pondered on what she could have forgotten that could make her nii-sama not even look at her direction let alone say more than four words. _Um… is it his birthday, no that doesn't sound right. Maybe it's some sort of holiday… I highly doubt it. Oh no! What if it was a meeting with the elders and that is why nii-sama came to stop my sparring session with Renji! _Rukia came out of her thoughts when she heard a quite sigh come out of Byakuya.

Not turning around, he kept walking and began to speak in a low voice only making sure that Rukia was that only one who could hear him. "No, it's not my birthday, nor is it some… holiday that you picked up from the human world or a meeting with the elders. It's something more… private. But if you can't seem to remember that then there is no use in reminding you."

_Private? Ugh, I hate it when he talks in riddles and is easily able to read my mind like I spoke my thoughts out loud._ Rukia looked at the form of Byakuya and could tell that he wasn't walking like he usually walks with that powerful step in him, no; it looks like he is walking a walk of misery. Almost as if he was sad that he couldn't believe that Rukia could forget such an important day. The rest of the walk back to the Kuchiki Mansion was a quite one with Rukia's head down as she felt that she let her nii-sama down.

Once they reached the mansion, they were quickly greeted by some of the servants who bowed in their respect. Rukia headed to the dining room but was surprised that Byakuya didn't head to eat with her. Instead he walked to go to his quarters and never once looked her way or said anything towards her.

Rukia wanted to follow him but knew that, that would be wrong for her to do. It was better to leave her nii-sama rest some of that tension out and not make him any more frustrated than he already is. She gave a small sigh and decided it was time to eat and try not to dwell on what she could have forgotten that was so important to Byakuya.

Byakuya, who was already settled in his room was beginning to head over to his bed but was interrupted when he heard steps come closer to his door. He already knew who was at the other side and closed his eyes. "Come in."

The door was hesitantly opened by a nervous Rukia. "Nii-sama, can I ask you something?"

He looked at her for a while and decided on what to say. "If it is about what you have _forgotten_ then no, you can't ask what it was. Anything else you want to disturb me about or do you plan for the both of us to stand here in silence the whole night."

Rukia hated how much his words hurt her, it was like the time she was adopted and before her execution, she didn't know what she did but she was willing to figure it out. Rukia didn't want to go back to those quite dinners and no acknowledgement what so ever from her nii-sama. Rukia clenched her fists and decided that she was not going to leave with her tail between her legs.

"N-nii-sama, I-I really don't understand why you are being so unfair with me I-"

"I already told you, don't ask me something that _you_ forgot. Now, if you are done, please leave."

Rukia looked down and her hair covered up her face, she was so ashamed that she couldn't even make eye contact with her nii-sama. She nodded and didn't say another word as she left his room. Only a single tear left her eye as she headed towards her room. _Why?_

Later that night, Byakuya awoke; no longer being able to sleep due to the cruel words he had spoken to Rukia with. _No, why should I feel guilt, she is the one who forgot our important day. But… why does it bother me so._

He got out of bed and decide that a walk outside would do him good and make him forget about the strange feeling he is having. He was surprised that he didn't feel Rukia's reiatsu in her room; instead he felt it coming from outside the mansion. _What could be keeping her up?_

Once he made it outside, he saw that Rukia was sitting with her legs tucked in to her chest as her face was hidden from view. Anyone who walked by could easily tell that the young girl was heavily depressed. And Byakuya knew that he was the one who caused this young girl's depression in the first place.

He walked closer to her and she didn't make any acknowledgement of his presence near her. Then Byakuya spoke up to get her attention, "Rukia."

Rukia tensed up at the voice of her nii-sama but it wasn't that same voice he used with her moments in his room, instead he sounded more like he was worried. She looked up and saw that Byakuya was not far away from her. "Why are you up, nii-sama?"

"I came out for a walk and then realized that you weren't in your room, I figured that you would be out here."

Rukia looked away from his stare and decided it was better not to ask questions. "I couldn't sleep," was all that she said and was beginning to feel uncomfortable with the stare of her nii-sama. Taking a chance, she decided to ask one more time what she did wrong. It was practically eating her away not being able to recall any important appointment with her nii-sama.

"Please, tell me what I have forgotten." She said it almost as if she was desperate to get any sort of answer that it didn't even matter if it was lie, only to set her conscious straight and give her peace.

Byakuya could tell that she was desperate to get an answer out of him and decided that he should not continue punishing her anymore. In a low voice he said, "remember a couple of months ago you asked me if I could train with you."

Rukia looked up, startled that she did indeed ask to spar with her nii-sama to see how her skills have improved. "Yes, I remember! I asked you when you were done sparring with Renji but you said that in another time. Soon, as months went by, I kept asking you about once a month until it turned into twice a week," she looked down, a sad look in her eyes, "but, no matter how many times I asked, you would always say that you were busy or in another time. I then asked you one last time about… two weeks ago and you said-"

"In the first day of the next month."

Rukia gave a small gasp. "Today is the first day for this month! I completely forgot, Renji asked me a week before if I could spar with him in one week. I guess in that week I completely forgot what you said, nii-sama." She turned and bowed her head towards Byakuya. "Forgive me, I was just caught up with other things in my mind that I completely forgot what you said, nii-sama."

Byakuya looked down on her and closed his eyes. "There is no need for that, Rukia. But what has gotten your mind wondering?"

Rukia slowly began to look up, embarrassed by how to answer that question, no, more like scared at asking a question that would infuriate Byakuya. Rukia gulped down her fear and decided it was better to ask than wonder any longer. "Well, I was wondering-you don't have to tell me if you don't want to nii-sama, but why have you been coming to wait for me at the Thirteen Division, if I may ask?"

Byakuya looked down on Rukia with that deep gaze of his that would freeze any opponent on the spot, but he slightly soften his gaze. "I wanted to be able to spend some time with you Rukia; I did not know it was a crime."

"Oh no! Of course it's not a crime, I was just… wondering." Her voice got softer as did her eyes, after quickly clearing up that she didn't mind that her nii-sama to be able to spend time with her. "It's… just different. Back then I thought that you didn't even want to spend some time with me so… I just thought of it to be strange, forgive me."

Byakuya took a seat on the edge of the floor and crossed his legs, looking out towards the Kuchiki Manor's garden. "Back then is in the past, we shouldn't dwell on things that only bring us misery; we should just look forward to the things that bring us… happiness."

Rukia looked from the edge of her eyes towards Byakuya as he kept his gaze out towards the garden. "Do I bring you that happiness, nii-sama?"

Byakuya stayed calm at the question asked and replied as if he was discussing the weather. "Out of all the people I know I would say, yes, you do bring me happiness."

Rukia smiled and looked out towards the garden, a nice silent moment came before them as they enjoyed it in each other's company.

"So… can we spar tomorrow?"

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><p>Outside Rukongai, in a deep forest stood three men who were shrouded by the darkness of the trees. They disappeared and reappeared on top of three separate trees, up high but where no light could be able to hit them.<p>

"Norio, why did we land outside of the Soul Society?"

"…"

Takeshi looked over to Norio and was about to open his mouth once more but was interrupted by a voice behind him.

"Leave him be, Takeshi. You know that he doesn't take things very lightly. Just worry about yourself and don't ask stupid questions and for all that is pure do not shout."

Takeshi looked away from Masaru with a frown in his face, he blew out some air from his mouth and a small fog formed from it. He looked over to Norio and could see that he was very serious from the way he looked out towards Soul Society.

He puffed out some air as he sighed. "Whatever."

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><p><strong>AN: Please leave review! And to the people who reviewed, THANK YOU!**

**Also, do you see a relationship growing!**

**Although I'm still not sure whether to be platonic or become something else, what do you guys think about this? **


	16. Corrupt the Innocent

**A/N: Warning: Chapter contains some very gruesome and homophobic beatings.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Corrupt the Innocent<p>

Kioshi stood next to a normal size tree that was able to sprout in the hour that it was planted on the ground. A small pulsation was able to emit from the tree, but only if you placed close attention, then anyone with high reiatsu could be able to tell that this was not some ordinary tree.

Mikio landed a couple minutes later five feet from Kioshi as he stared up at the tree. "What are you doing here? I thought I was the only one allowed to come to the human world."

Kioshi kept his gaze up at the tree. "I'm here because I have information to share with you, Mikio," Mikio narrowed his eyes at the man that refused to glance at him, "your seed must be planted near the medical college, it would appear that the Quincy by the name Ishida Uryū and the Shinigami by the name Kurosaki Ichigo, attend that facility. That is all I came to tell you, I expect you do your job correct this time and try not to make any moves on your own." Kioshi turned and began walking away.

Mikio watched as he walked away and said. "There's another reason why you're here, right?"

Kioshi didn't turn around or replied to the question that Mikio asked. Instead, he kept on walking away from his sight.

"Hmph, whatever." Mikio placed his hand inside his coat and took out a small seed that began glowing green every few seconds. He clenched his fist and waited for the small seed to crack in his hand. Once he opened up his palm, the seed was crushed into small remains of what it used to be. He placed his palm up to the wind and let the dust of the seed fly away, he then closed his eyes. "Great Naoki tree, please hear my cry, and keep watch of the man known as Kioshi Kōmori." When the dust was completely gone from his palm he opened up his eyes and walked away.

Mikio noticed that only a few people where outside of the college holding up signs. _This won't do, now, where do I plant-oh there!_ He noticed an abandoned spot next to the school and walked over to it. He kneeled down and started feeling the ground with the palm of his hand. _Yes, rich soil like this will make my seed grow faster._ He reached for a seed in his coat and stuck it inside the dirt after he made a small enough hole; he then covered it back up with the dirt and stood up. _Now, I wait._

The floor began pulsating green as Mikio walked away.

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><p>Orihime waved goodbye at Tatsuki as she left the small flat. She closed the door and went to the small bathroom. Orihime leaned over the sink and placed her hand over her mouth. <em>Why can't I forget that man who had those brown eyes? I feel sick by just thinking about it. I didn't even get his name.<em>

"Kōmori Kioshi."

Orihime gasped and looked up, only to see the image of that man be reflected from the mirror. She was paralyzed and didn't know what to do, a part of her wanted to run but another part wanted to just stay still and not move a muscle.

"Why are you surprised? You asked a question, did you not?"

_Question? But I was thinking it I didn't say it out loud._

Kioshi closed his eyes. "Yes, you _were_ thinking it, but you can't hide your thoughts from me."

Orihime tightly grasped the sink with her hands and looked up to the mirror to look at the man's reflection. "What do you want with me?" _I don't have anything worth your time._

"Fortunately or unfortunately, you do have something worth my time."

She frowned and was beginning to sweat as her fear began showing and her panic as well. "Stop reading my mind that is abusing someone's privacy! And what could I possibly have to be able to have your attention!"

Kioshi opened his eyes and locked them with the eyes of Orihime thanks to the mirror reflecting them. "Your _mind_."

Orihime then felt as if something was rushing by her, like a drug was piercing her skin and injecting her with poison. Her eyes widened and felt her head become light. All the blood flow seemed to have stopped and the room felt like it was spinning.

"Your _memories_."

A flash of memories began to fly by her like a child flipping through colored pages that didn't seem to catch their attention.

"And last but not least, your _heart_."

She then felt her heart begin to pound more than normally until finally she could not keep consciousness and began falling backwards due to the overflowing pain in her body. But instead of hitting the cold tile floor she was caught by two outstretched arms that held her by her upper arms. Her eyes were closed and she was lightly dragged down onto the floor with Kioshi still holding her.

He was on his knees and held the poor unconscious girl, his hair draped over his face, covering up his eyes. "Yes, you do serve a greater purpose than to be standing by the sidelines, Inoue Orihime."

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><p>Mikio was on top of a building looking up at the moon shining upon the town as he heard people running down the streets.<p>

"Get him!"

"He's one 'o them gays!"

A scream echoed loudly, piercing the sky with its agonizing pain. More footsteps could be heard as a group of people holding weapons in their hand began smacking away at the flesh on the floor who tried its best to cover up and protect himself. It didn't work.

"Kids these days, they just can't play nicely. Although, since it _is _my seed that is causing all these people to conflict with their emotions and release their true colors, I wouldn't suspect any less from the aggressive type."

He ignored the rest of the people rushing by the streets as he took out a seed from his coat. He held it in his thumb and index finger and then he released it, letting it float were it once was being held, he then began to close his eyes. "Great Naoki, grant me the power to see… see into the one named… Kioshi Kōmori."

A bright light flashed from the seed and it slowly began to open up, peeling away its outer shell to emit a bright flash of green, reviling the man that was called upon by its master. An image began to come up and it showed Kioshi hiding in a tree and looking upon a small apartment room. The next image was of a young girl with orange-hair lying on her bed, most likely being unconscious due to the way her body looked. Mikio reached up to the seed and grasped it within his palm.

"Who is that young girl? Well, whoever it is, knowing Kioshi, she's either dead or-"

"AHHHHHHH!"

"That's what you get you dumb stupid fag!" a kick to the ribs as more blood spilled out from the young man.

"Hurry up! We got us more fags to beat up!"

"YEAH!" screamed a large group of about six men who hurried away to find more victims to beat upon.

_Hmm, what a lovely sight. Punish, punish all the sinners, do not leave one left uncounted for. Soon, poor Quincy, you'll be next and that Shinigami. All sinners deserve to die._

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><p>"We bring you this special report from Karakura Town; it seems that there have been eleven serious cases in where only males have been reported heavily wounded or as some are saying "dead." Either way, please keep in inside houses and wait for our further report."<p>

Ichigo and Uryū looked on wide eyed at what the TV screen was showing. In the past four hours, people were reporting that men were being attacked, for which they don't know the cause yet. Many say that it is because some gangs want to be noticed while others claim that it's because they deserved it. Whatever the case is, it seemed like these beatings were not stopping anytime soon this night, most likely it looked like some horrible riot you would find in some action movie that wanted to protest against some government.

Ichigo looked wide eyed at the scene that played before him, not being able to believe that this type of thing could be happening in Karakura Town or that its inhabitants could be acting in such a way. "What the hell is going on out there?"

Uryū frowned at a scene that showed a young bloodied man being placed on a stretcher and become covered up with a white blanket, a bloody hand stood out as he was being lifted onto the ambulance. _That man, I saw him before around the campus. He was holding the hand of another male as they walked around during lunch break. Does there sexuality have anything to do with this or is it merely a coincidence._

Ichigo looked over to Uryū who seemed to be deep in thought; he was probably still trying to take in the gruesome image. "Hey, Ishida, what's wrong?"

Uryū came out of his thoughts and turned his head to look at the Shinigami. "Nothing, I was just thinking why this could have happened, I mean there is no reason for people to cause such a thing like this especially to poor defenseless bystanders who didn't deserve this."

Ichigo crossed his arms over his chest and scowled to the TV. "They said that they think that gangs just want to get noticed, but if you ask me, that's a load of bull."

"Heh, what a nice interpretation of the scene, Kurosaki." said Uryū using a mocking tone.

The Shinigami scowled but knew that Uryū was just messing with him. "Whatever, but we shouldn't worry about this, if it was a Hollow then we could take care of it, but since it's not…" Ichigo's voice trailed off as he stood up to stretch his arms over his head. He then began to head into his room.

Uryū watched as he went into his room and then brought his attention back to the TV. _I wonder if it has anything to do with-_

"Oi, Ishida! Hurry up and turn off that thing!" screamed Ichigo from inside his room, his voice slightly sounding impatient.

Shaking his head, Uryū turned off the TV and headed into Ichigo's-no-their room. When he walked into the room he saw that Ichigo was down to only his boxers. He then began to grin at the design that was on the boxers. "I never thought that you would actually wear that, Kurosaki."

Ichigo felt a blush go across his face as he looked down to his boxers. "Shut up! I couldn't find my boxers so I just grabbed these from the bottom of the drawer." Ichigo looked around to find some pants to cover up the embarrassing Quincyfied boxers that he had on. Who knew Uryū could also sew crosses onto boxers during his so called 'spare-time'.

Uryū went to stop Ichigo from looking to cover his personalized boxers up by grabbing the pants and folding them back up. "Don't, I actually like this look."

Ichigo stopped trying to reach for them and turned to go to the also Quincyfied bed that had an embedded Quincy cross on the bed spread. He dropped onto the bed and placed his hands behind his head. "You're a freak, Ishida."

While Ichigo had his eyes closed, Uryū was taking off his clothes and folding them up so they couldn't wrinkle. Now being also down to his boxers the Quincy joined Ichigo in the small bed. Said man made room for Uryū as he moved slightly but Uryū settled himself on top of him, his head on his chest accompanied by his hand, while Ichigo wrapped one arm around his pale milky back. Enjoying the moment that the two were sharing which to them were those rare moments were they could just relax and do nothing more but to bask in each other's presence.

Ichigo caressed his back with closed eyes but could feel that Uryū still had his eyes opened. "What's eating you?"

Uryū rubbed his head on the tan chest to get more comfortable. "Nothing, we should sleep, tomorrow is another day and we have to go to medic school."

Ichigo nodded and closed his eyes; Uryū had his eyes half-lidded for a moment and then closed his eyes completely. Letting his worries flow away but yet some of those worries still lingered in his mind even in the arms of his greatest love but also his greatest sin.

* * *

><p>"Quickly! Hurry before we lose him! Get this man into the ER!" screamed a nurse as she pointed to a man who was heavily bleeding and couldn't stop.<p>

Soon, nurses where rushing around quickly as young men were being brought in due to massive blood loss, Karakura Hospital was soon becoming over packed with many patients that the employed doctors could simply not tend to them all, rooms where beginning to get packed with bodies that the doctors had to pull into overtime.

A nurse stopped her panic fast pacing and tried to calm her breath for a moment to ask a nurse for a doctor. "Where is the Director of the hospital?"

A nurse holding her clipboard tight to her chest stopped to answer her co-workers panicked voice. "He's busy tending to a patient; apparently he had a knife sticking out of his chest and a mortal wound to the head caused by a crow bar!"

The other nurse brought her palm up to her mouth as she just imagined the gruesome image in her head. "How terrible!"

Isshin came running inside the hospital and looked around at all the stretchers being brought in with a frown on his face. He then noticed two nurses and went up to them. "Do you two know where Dr. Ishida is?" his voice also sounding a bit rushed.

They turned to him and one nurse answered him. "I'm sorry but he's right now in the operating room tending to a patient."

"Actually, I just finished."

All three turned around and saw that Ryūken just came out of the operating room as he cleaned off his forehead from the extra sweat that was coming down with a tissue. He looked like he was also in a hurry and was pushing past what he was used to. His hair was disheveled with sweat making it stick to his forehead; even his glasses were sliding down from his nose which made him push them back up more often than he usually does.

Isshin went over to Ryūken in a hurry, his face serious. "You need to let me help some of these patients!" his voice was determined that he wouldn't take no for an answer from the bespectacled doctor.

Ryūken didn't even have to think about it twice before he answered him. "Fine, the more help the better. Go deal with the lesser injured and bandage up the ones that are in the rooms with the other doctors."

Isshin quickly went to help injured patients as he left the two nurses and the Director of the hospital.

A nurse turned around and asked, "Sir, are you sure about this?"

Ryūken pushed his glasses up. "He may be an idiot, but he still knows what's he's doing," Ryūken then began walking away, "he's just an overly idiot every other day."

The hospital soon began to get drowned with the sounds of the ambulances arriving with poor bodies being wounded by grave wounds that some just weren't able to make it to get help. The whole town seemed to be in turmoil and the night didn't seem like it was going to get better anytime soon.

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><p>Rukia quickly opened her eyes as she felt an immense pain go through her. She placed her palm where her heart was. It was quickening in pace as she tried to calm it back down, frowning she stood up from the ground she was sitting in and looked out into the night. She then heard footsteps come closer.<p>

Byakuya stopped his moonlit walk once he noticed that Rukia's reiatsu was rising. He looked over to her and noticed that she was clutching to her Shinigami uniform where her heart is supposed to be. "What's wrong?" using his calm brotherly voice that he only uses in her presence.

Rukia looked down onto the floor. "I don't know I just got this bad vibe. It almost felt as if Inoue was in trouble, but I'm just not positive, nii-sama."

Byakuya knew that she was worried about her friend and knew that she would not calm down until she was positive that everything was alright. "If you are that worried then go."

Rukia then looked over to Byakuya, wide eyed that he would suggest such a thing, but thinking back on it, he wasn't completely the same man she once knew. "But what about my duties as a-"

"I believe that your duties as a fuku-taichou can be easily understood if you take a couple days off by your Taichou." said Byakuya as he interrupted her.

Rukia looked back down and tried to decide what to do. _My heart says to go but should I really just leave because of a gutty feeling in my stomach? _She then turned to face Byakuya. "Nii-sama thank you, but since I know that Renji is probably over stacked with paper work and new trainees, I was wondering if you could accompany me-that is if you want to!" saying the last part in such embarrassment that her cheeks began to turn slightly pink due to how quick she was to catch herself.

Byakuya's expression didn't change and closed his eyes. "Forgive me, but I must decline your offer."

Rukia then looked down with a saddened face. "Oh, well I-"

"But seeing as this means a lot to you, I suppose a few days wouldn't do any harm. Just as long as Abarai doesn't try to destroy the Sixth Division in my absence, I will join you."

Rukia was surprised by her nii-sama's response and looked over to him with a smile across her face. "Thank you nii-sama, and don't worry, Renji wouldn't completely destroy your Division." _maybe just half of it._

Byakuya held in a small groan as he could already picture his Division in shambles when he returned. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to leave his Division alone but when he opened his eyes to look at Rukia, all doubt flew out of his mind.

"Then we shall depart for the human world early tomorrow morning."

Rukia nodded and looked back to the shining moon in the sky.

_I just hope we make it in time._

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><p><strong>AN: I really feel like inspiration has hit me that I can't seem to bring myself to not update more quickly! Although I had to redo this chapter about 3 times before I could get it to how I wanted it. I think this is one of my longest chapters in a while and I find that very accomplishing in my part!**

**Please leave reviews! I will completely appreciate it! **


	17. Orihime: One Mind Lost

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Orihime: One Mind Lost<p>

_Wh-where am I? _

_Your mind._

_W-who are you?_

_Open your eyes and you will see._

Orihime clenched her eyes tight and then quickly opened them. She squint her eyes when she saw a bright light, and placed a hand up to try to block the shining light.

"Why is it so bright?"

"Because it reflects the type of person you are."

Orihime looked behind her shoulder to where the voice was coming from. There, behind her stood Kioshi as he looked around the bright area they were in. Orihime too, took notice of the location that had caught the pale man's attention.

It consisted of a sandy beach, which had a bright, but not flaring, sun overlooking it. And the atmosphere around the two was to… overwhelming, in Kioshi's opinion.

_This girl has the strangest mind I have ever visited-_

"E-excuse me but… where are we?"

Kioshi gave Orihime a side-glance as he made direct contact with her eyes. "I told you already, we are in your mind. This represent everything that you are, from the sun high up in the sky to the sand underneath our feet, it is all you."

Orihime looked carefully around. "This is me? But if what you say is true then how are we inside _my_ mind! It's impossible to be able to do such a thing!"

Kioshi walked over to a tree all the while talking as he went, "then how do you explain such a thing, Inoue Orihime?" He took a seat under the tree to hide from the shining sun above them.

Orihime walked closer to him but still remained a good distance from him. "May-maybe this is just a dream, something made up."

Kioshi pulled out a book from his coat and examined the cover, not once looking up at the bewildered girl. "Then if that is true then I am nothing more than a figment of your imagination, right?"

"Well…"

"And if that is the case then how do suppose that I am here? Surely you don't just _happen_ to imagine people out of nowhere, or am I wrong?"

Orihime was beginning to feel slightly faint; she grabbed hold of her head with one hand while she used the other to grab at her side. "What are you trying to do? You don't seem like you want to harm me but yet I feel as if my head hurts so much, I don't understand?"

Kioshi opened the book to the first page and paid more attention to the book. "Hm, you were born on September 3, it seems."

Orihime looked up with wide-eyes. "Wh-what are you-"

"You are also a blood type: BO."

Orihime walked closer to him and noticed that he was skimming through the page as his eyes moved very fast to each word. She felt her head begin to ache and placed a hand to hold her throbbing head. "How-"

"You also like comedies, and Asian flower prints."

Orihime began to heavy pant as she was two feet away from the man who seemed to be reading her entire life laid out in print. "Please, stop." saying it in a pained tone as her pants were beginning to increase.

Kioshi took another glance at the book and with the one hand he had holding it, he slammed it closed and watched as Orihime fell to her knees. "Does it hurt when someone has access to your entire life or are you just in pain because it's _me _who is reading your life?"

Orihime had her head low, as she tried to calm down her breath for a moment. "You-you can't d-do such a te-terrible thing to someone. Why are you doing this? I don't understand?"

Kioshi looked at the panting girl. "Why I am doing this, you say. Because… I enjoy it."

Her eyes widened at hearing such a horrible thing come from some ones mouth. She couldn't even wrap her mind around why he would say such a thing.

"I enjoy watching people fall before me as they reach the point of insanity. The mind has always been an interest to me, such a simple yet complex thing the mind is, so I like to be able to see what type of things the mind is able to take before it either completely collapses or goes mad. But that would be all for today, unfortunately."

Orihime felt herself fading away as the world around her also began fading away. The only thing she could hear was a fading voice echoing in her ear.

"Keep this in mind, a part of my soul is going to left here, so no matter where you are I will always know, you have become my new puppet, Orihime."

_A puppet that I will not easily have taken away from me._

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><p><strong>AN: **

**1 . First of I want to say that not many have been reviewing as I would have hope. Which makes me somewhat unsure of how this story is progressing, I don't know if it's towards your liking or that you just want to kick me in the face for not a well (as I thought) story. Many have favored this story, which I'm thankful for, but I need someone to review and tell me if they see any faults in this story. I like to know especially if there is anything wrong with any possible grammar or the way this story is being written, writing is a passion I enjoy doing and if you notice that it's crappy then that alone is a reason for me to go back and see what I did wrong, I wish to improve in my writing at any given moment.**

**2 . I have to work late at night on week days but somehow I still manage to cram some time to write out a good enough chapter for the viewers' enjoyment (not to mention I also have school and other life responsibilities.) Which sometimes makes updating take some time on my part (not to mention I have to watch over my older sister for pushing herself too hard on her work.) Which is why I'm used to late hours to have more time to think up a good enough chapter.**

**3 . I also wonder if you have interesting suggestions to help out this poor writer, like if you have interesting couples you would like to see or just have some interesting scene you would like to see some of the characters in. I would gladly take into consideration when I write down another chapter in my spare time.**

**4 . For now, what do you think of these past chapters? Is it to your liking? Do you hate them? Are my plots boring, interesting, or just make you want to yawn? The only way I can find out is if you review.**

**Sorry for the long A/N, but please do take this into consideration. (Now I have to decide whether to take care of a friend's pet cat…) **


	18. Unexpected Guests

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

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><p>Unexpected Guests<p>

Ichigo began coming awake as the sun shined through the window. He looked down at his chest and notices that a Quincy was more than happily tucked in the crook of his neck. He smiled and tried to get out of bed without waking up Uryū. He succeeded in getting out and left the room, but when he was about to reach the bathroom for a quick shower, he hears someone knocking on the door.

"What the-now who could that be?"

Not even caring to put on some pants to cover his half-nude body, Ichigo walks towards the door and reaches out to open it. When he opens the door he has half the mind to close it right back. Because on the other side of the door stood Rukia and Byakuya Kuchiki.

Ichigo was frozen and couldn't even look them in the eyes let alone look done to see that he was only wearing boxers, Quincyfied boxers to be exact. He let his eyes travel over to Rukia and noticed that she had a slight blush going across her face while Byakuya closed his eyes with a slight frown upon his face.

_It couldn't get any worse than this-_

"Kurosaki! Why didn't you wake me up?"

_It just did!_

Rukia looked over to where the voice was coming from and recognized it to belong to Ishida Uryū. She was about to open her mouth until she saw the last thing she would have ever thought she would see.

Uryū walked out of the room only his boxers and was rubbing his eyes while he held his glasses in the other hand. "Why are you standing around, Kurosaki-"

Uryū stopped his talking when he placed his glasses back on and notice the company they had. And unlike Ichigo, Uryū quickly went back into the room and closed the door leaving Ichigo to deal with the awkwardness in the room.

Ichigo turned to look at his guests. "Make yourselves at home while I go… change." He then quickly disappeared in the bathroom. Leaving Rukia and Byakuya standing in the doorway to try and take in what just occurred.

"What-"

Byakuya shook his head as in to stop Rukia from finishing her sentence.

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><p>Ichigo quickly started to get dress and decided to skip a shower seeing as he didn't expect the guests that just arrived, throwing on a random shirt and a pair of pants to cover up his embarrassing boxers. He decided that he was going to make Uryū pay for abandoning him in the most awkwardness moment in his life.<p>

After he was dressed he came out of the bathroom ready to demand why Rukia and Byakuya where here in the first place. He saw that Byakuya was sitting in a chair with his arms crossed while Rukia was looking around his apartment.

When Rukia saw that Ichigo came out, she gestured to the whole room with her hand, "is this your new home?"

"Yeah, but why are you and him," pointing his thumb over to where Byakuya was sitting, "doing here?" skipping all formalities to get to the point of their unexpected visit.

Rukia changed the topic by changing the conversation to where she wanted it to go. "Why is Ishida living with you?"

Ichigo felt his face heat up and growled out, "he's a roommate!"

Rukia let a mischievous smile come out as she saw how red Ichigo was getting. "Really? I didn't know that roommate's slept in the same room?"

Before Ichigo could retort a reply, Uryū came out of the room all dressed as he pushed up his glasses and looked over to Rukia.

"It's true Kuchiki-san, we are only roommates. Kurosaki sleeps in the couch while I sleep in the room." acting nonchalant about the whole situation.

Rukia looked slightly confused as she tilted her head to the side. "Then why were you two half naked?"

Ichigo quickly blurted out what came to his mind, "because where guys." He crossed his arms over his chest as if challenging anyone to say anything else to try and prove him wrong.

Uryū thought it was the stupidest thing Ichigo has ever said but if it kept Rukia from saying anything else then it was good enough for him. Clearing his throat, he brought his attention to Rukia once again.

"Kuchiki-san, what brings you here?"

Rukia frowned at Uryū. "What, I can't visit from time to time; I even brought nii-sama for vacation!"

Uryū slightly backed away from the angered Shinigami and then realized what she said. "Vacation!"

Both Ichigo and Uryū thought the same thing.

_We're screwed._

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><p>It hasn't even been an hour and already Ichigo wanted to throw out both Rukia and Byakuya. Mainly Rukia for going through his entire apartment in some sort of inspection manner while Byakuya just sat in the same chair, as he had his eyes closed but even his presence disturbed Ichigo.<p>

Ichigo stood up from the couch and began walking to his room. "Uh, Ishida, where did you leave my book?"

"On the table."

Ichigo's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Where's my pencil?"

"In the nightstand."

Ichigo walked over to Uryū and grabbed his wrist. "I need to ask you something, now!"

Uryū was harshly pulled by his wrist as Ichigo lead him inside their room. He closed the door and looked over to Uryū. "We need to get rid of them."

Uryū smirked. "Why? I kind of enjoy their company-"

Ichigo walked over to Uryū and grabbed him by his waist and brought him closer so that both their pelvises were touching. Uryū blushed when he felt something hard poke him and realized that Ichigo was having a slight problem beneath his layers of clothing.

"K-Kurosaki, why are-"

Ichigo covered his mouth with his lips to quiet any more complaints coming from his mouth. Uryū on the other hand saw a complete problem with this. One: Byakuya and Rukia where just outside their door and could easily break down their door, especially if it was Rukia. Two: they had class to attend to and could not waste time on fixing Ichigo's boner problem at the moment. So, Uryū did the only thing that would stop this from going any further, he bit Ichigo's bottom lip.

"Ow, the hell was that for!" said Ichigo, making sure that it was only hearable between him and Uryū, who at the moment looked very pissed off at him.

Uryū wiped his lips clean with the back of his hand and pushed up his glasses. "Idiot, we can't do something like that here! Have some self-control and remember that we have company outside this room, not to mention we also have school to attend to." fumed Uryū as he tried to get everything into Ichigo's thick head.

Ichigo crossed his arms and looked away from the angered Quincy. "So, you're saying that if Byakuya and Rukia weren't here then-"

"No, absolutely not. We need to make ground rules if this is going to work."

Ichigo looked back to Uryū with wide eyes and thought that he was joking. Sadly, Uryū looked very determined like he always does when he has made a decision that he's going to stick to. Ichigo on the other hand didn't like it one bit.

"Ground rules? On what? Wanting to touch you or feel your skin rubbing against mine in-"

"Kurosaki!"

"The morning or trying to feel you up and have a quick shower while we're at it?" finished Ichigo with no shame at all as he stared at a bright red Quincy who really didn't want to hear anything that he just said.

Uryū gave Ichigo his best glare he could sum up at the moment. "And _that_ is exactly why there needs to be ground rules. Especially that shower one, we both can take separate showers without disturbing the other." Ichigo looked like he was about to complain as he opened his mouth but was interrupted by Uryū once again. "And no, we cannot have any type of intercourse during school days, that will ruin or studies and mental ability during school hours."

Ichigo scowled at the 'ground rules' that Uryū was making, which in his opinion were totally not necessary, mainly the last one. "Do you want me to die?" Ichigo let out a sigh as Uryū was beginning to open his mouth again. "Wait; don't tell me, next you want to pretend that what happened not too long ago can easily be taken care of by masturbating in the shower _while _taking a cold shower."

Uryū pushed his glasses up, and nodded to their 'understanding'. "I'm glad you see it my way, Kurosaki. We can't go floundering around a romance between you and I, we are still men and we should not be doing anything that would raise suspicion on us having a… relationship."

_Wow, even hearing you say that sounds like you just got a Quincy arrow stuck up your ass._ "Is it that hard to accept that _you_ the Last Quincy, Ishida Uryū, are in a relationship with… me." his voice faltering a bit as he pointed himself out. Ichigo began wondering if it really was hard to accept that Uryū was in a relationship with, well, Ichigo Kurosaki.

If he could draw up a list on all his bad points, it would fill up the whole page. Ichigo could already imagine the words like: reckless, thoughtless, hasty, rash, wild. Heck, if he knew Uryū, which he did, then his extended dictionary of vocabulary would be able to fill up pages upon pages of all his faults. Maybe Uryū was right to keep everything like it once was, even if he didn't agree to it.

Uryū saw the saddened look coming upon Ichigo's face and wanted nothing more than to consult him, but he had to hold up a hard front if he wanted this to work. "I'm merely saying that we should keep it between us, it is our business and no one else's. And besides, if I can't stand random people making out in a public places' then it's less likely that I would indulge in the same." saying it with a small smile in hopes of ending the tension in the room.

Ichigo returned the smile and nodded. "Yeah, but I'm not really good with self-control and I might just lose it if I can't get one single kiss at least every few h-mmph."

Uryū reached out to grasp Ichigo;s head in his hands and brought his lips to his own. Quickly, Ichigo responded to the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Uryū's waist and began to close his eyes, getting lost in the sensation that was Uryū. If anybody had ever told him that Ishida Uryū had the softest lips, then he would have sent that person straight to the hospital and tried it out for himself. He knew that he was becoming a little possessive of the Quincy but he didn't want to share him with anyone, let alone anyone who tried to get forward on him and try their luck on the Quincy who had pierced his heart with an arrow the moment he touched said lips.

All too soon for Ichigo's taste, Uryū pulled away from him but had his lips a mere breathe away from his, he slowly began to whisper as he barely grazed Ichigo's lips. "Don't worry; I'll make sure that your self-control grows."

Ichigo closed his eyes and grunted in irritation. "Not helping."

"I didn't say it had to be now."

"You always did like those weird loop-holes or messed-up logic of yours." said Ichigo as he held Uryū more tightly to his body until he felt a knee make contact with his torso.

Ichigo left go of him and instead grabbed at his stomach which was in pain due to the scowling Quincy before him. "It's not messed-up logic, I told you before that it's a paradox, you're just too nescient to pinpoint that out, as always."

"Nesc-what?"

"My point exactly."

Uryū walked past Ichigo and reached for the door, but before he could turn the knob, Ichigo reached out and placed his hand over his own. "We need to get rid of Byakuya and Rukia; the last thing I want is for those two to stay here. We don't even have room for them."

Uryū looked away from Ichigo and back to the door. "You're right but, where do you suppose they stay? Not to mention that it's obvious that they're not here for a mere vacation."

"We'll figure that out later, but we better get going or we'll be late for school."

Both Ichigo and Uryū exited the room and saw that Rukia and Byakuya where having a small conversation of their own as both were seated on the small couch and were whispering in low voices.

_That's strange, _thought Ichigo as he walked over to the couch to retrieve his book bag. The moment he got near enough to be able to listen in to their conversation, both stopped talking and Rukia stood up, looking over to Ichigo as he walked over to stand next to Uryū, who was already waiting by the door with his own book bag in hand.

"You're going to school?"

Uryū opened the door and Ichigo looked over to Rukia. "Yeah, we'll be back later. You can stay here for the mean time, and don't go looking through my room." With that said, Ichigo and Uryū walked out of the room, leaving Rukia and Byakuya by themselves.

Rukia looked over to her nii-sama as he crossed his arms, then she noticed that both her and Byakuya were still in their Shinigami forms. "Uh, nii-sama, do you think we should get our Gigai to blend in more?"

"I suppose," he then stood up and walked over to the sliding window that was covered by a white curtain. He pushed the curtains away and slid the window open to show a small balcony outside the flat. He waited for Rukia to walk outside as well and then he slid back the window to its original position.

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><p>Ichigo looked around at the mess that was on the streets and noticed some blood stains on some abandon weapons left by thugs or homophobic people. He scowled and then he thought of something. "Hey, do you think that your dad was busy with the injured that were able to escape?"<p>

Uryū looked over to Ichigo with a small frown on his face. "Of course, he is a doctor, Kurosaki. But why do you ask?"

"Well, I was wondering if we could go by there after classes were over."

The Quincy raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "And why would you want to do that?"

Ichigo looked down in deep thought. "Well, I wanted to see if we could talk to some of the injured guys or at least someone that saw what happened."

Uryū looked away and placed his attention back on the road. "You can go, but I will not have anything to do with Ryūken. I hardly think that you'll be able to see any of the injured seeing as they took a heavy beating, anyway."

Ichigo was trying to think up of something to change the Quincy's mind. "How about if you just don't communicate at all with him, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Of course that wouldn't be a problem; the real problem would be, having to try to speak with any of the injured. The hospital must be filled with many patients and family members by now. And what's with all this curiosity of yours, Kurosaki?"

"Don't you want to know what the hell is going on with this damn town? Especially since we-you know-are in a…" Ichigo tried to find the right word without saying that they were in a relationship, "mutual understanding."

Uryū paused and looked to Ichigo. "That does seem to cause a problem especially if some day we want to actually tell others about our 'mutual understanding'. I guess it wouldn't cause any harm to go and check out the hospital, just as long if I don't have to make any sort of communication with that man."

Ichigo grinned as he was finally able to convince Uryū in joining him to visit the hospital. "That's fine by me!"

The rest of the walk to school was quiet as they just walked side by side.

* * *

><p>Ryūken sneezed as he was looking through a file.<p>

"Maybe you should relax for a bit or you'll catch something." said Isshin from his laying down position in Ryūken's small bed in his office.

Without turning around Ryūken placed the file inside the cabinet to fetch another. "Nonsense, it's probably my idiot of a son bad mouthing me."

Isshin grinned. "Ah, so you get that too."

Ryūken's eyebrow twitches at the reply from the relaxed man behind me. "Don't you think you should busy yourself with other things than to hang around here doing nothing?"

"I am doing something."

"Oh," not believing what Isshin is saying at the moment, "and what _are_ you doing that doesn't seem like nothing to you?"

"Making sure you don't over work yourself."

Ryūken pauses mid-sentence in the file but quickly begins looking it over again. "Well, forgive me for not being as laid back as some, but my job consists of having my complete attention that I do not have a moment to myself to _relax_."

The room became quite for awhile until Isshin broke it. "What do you think is causing this?"

Ryūken didn't know how to respond at first due to not knowing why this is happening but gave a straight answer. "Just some homophobia, that's all I can explain it. The wounds are all made by mere weapons that you can find laying around, and I didn't sense anything out of the ordinary."

"Hmm, poor boys, having to suffer like this for other people's misconception about them."

"Yes, misconception."

* * *

><p>Urahara smiled at the visit that he got when he came to his front door. "Ah, good morning Kuchiki-san and Kuchiki-Taichou, how may I be of service to you?"<p>

Rukia walked closer to Urahara. "We're just coming by for some Gigais to use while we stay here for a while."

"A while? Is there a reason for your visit?"

Rukia smiled. "Not at all, we just thought this would make for a… great vacation."

Urahara smile was hidden behind his fan. "I see, and what about Abarai-san, why hasn't he come along as well?"

"Well…"

* * *

><p>Renji walked into the Sixth Division and noticed that Byakuya wasn't in the room. He scratched the back of his head in wonder. "He's not here either, strange, Rukia also seems to be missing?"<p>

"Fuku-Taichou, I have some information to share with you."

Renji turned around. "What is it?"

"Both Kuchiki-fuku-taichou and Kuchiki-Taichou have gone to the living room and left me to give you this message." He handed a note over to him.

Renji took it and looked it over. "WHAT! They've gone to the living world without telling me and they expect me to do all that paper work! Oh, just wait until they come back, I'm going to get those two for this!"

"Uh, fuku-taichou."

"What is it!" said Renji as he crumpled the paper in his hand.

"You also have been assigned to Kuchiki-fuku-taichou's paper work; she said that you would be more than happy to see to it."

"WHAT!"

* * *

><p>"Renji is a bit occupied that he couldn't come with us this time."<p>

Urahara could tell that they left Renji in charge of everything but kept his smile in check. "That's too bad, well, come inside and I'll give you your Gigais."

* * *

><p>Ichigo stood up from his seat when a bell rang to signal lunch break, he noticed that Uryū was staring outside the whole time and wasn't paying attention in class which is something he never does. He walked over to him to see that he was still looking outside, mainly at a tree. "Hey, what's wrong?"<p>

Uryū didn't move his gaze from the tree but replied, nonetheless. "Was that tree always there?"

This caught Ichigo's attention; he looked outside as well and looked to the tree. "Is that what's got you so out of it lately, a tree? Now how the hell am I supposed to know that when I don't pay attention to the wilderness that much, let's just go eat."

Uryū narrowed his eyes to the tree but stood up from his seat and followed Ichigo out of the class room. While heading to the roof, Uryū noticed less activity in the halls. "I wonder where all the students are, they always seem to engage in their activities in the hallways during this time."

"You're very observant today, are you sure you're okay?"

"Perfectly fine, Kurosaki, I'm merely pointing out a fact."

Ichigo looked around the halls as well. "You do have a point; I think all the guys would get together and go out to eat. But I wonder why-"

He then noticed a boy walking by with his head low. "Hey, you!"

The boy looked up and saw that an orange-head was walking towards him; he started shaking as Ichigo came closer. "Y-yes?" stuttering as he couldn't get a grip of his vocals.

"Do you know where all the guys are? Don't they usually hang around here?"

"Y-yeah but they s-said that they rather not hook up anymore due to all that is happening at the moment. Please excuse me." and the boy left in a hurry.

Ichigo watched as the boy left. "Huh, well that was weird, not wanting to hook up because of all the trouble these damn homophobia people are giving to the male population, hell you can't even be seen with another man! And what's up with that guy, he was shaking like a leaf the whole time."

Uryū watched as the boy disappeared around the corner and brought his attention to Ichigo as he looked confused at why the young man was so scared. "Kurosaki, not trying to be blunt here, but that guy you just talked to is a bit not straight as an arrow, per say."

Ichigo looked over to Uryū with a bewildered look. "Huh? What are you, some sort of gay-dar?"

Uryū smacked Ichigo with his book bag and continued walking to the roof top. Ichigo rubbed his sore back and followed after Uryū.

* * *

><p>"Rukia, why didn't you want to tell Kurosaki why we came here for?" asked Byakuya as he and Rukia were seated on a bench in their Gigai bodies.<p>

"Forgive me nii-sama but I just don't think it's the right thing to do, especially since he has other things to worry about I rather not tell him about anything for a while."

Byakuya nodded and looked out into his surroundings not once noticing the three guys walking around with bats in their hands.

The blond guy looked over to the bench to see a pretty faced girl and his grin grew at what he saw. The other two watched as their blond friend started walking over to the bench as they waited by the sidewalk.

"Hey, haven't seen you around these parts before!"

Rukia looked over to the guy with blond hair and narrowed her eyes at him. "Please go away."

The blond only grinned more. "Aw and why would I do that?" He went to grab at her wrist but a hand came out and grabbed his wrist. "Huh?" He looked over to the raven haired man who caught his wrist.

Byakuya looked over to the blond and narrowed his eyes. "I believe she specifically said to leave her be. Now, I suggest you leave."

"What!" The blond move his hand away from Byakuya's grip and brought out his bat he was holding with his other hand into view, pointing it at Byakuya's face. "And who the hell do you think you are, huh? Hmm, you look like a guy who could be carrying money, why not leave the girl and your wallet and I let you go free?"

Byakuya glared over to the blond with his icy stare and stood up, walking in front of him. "I do not make any agreements with thugs such as yourself, I'll warn you one last time: leave."

The blond smirked. "Not on your life." He swung his bat to hit Byakuya but he easily dodged it and punched the blond in the face, sending him flying a good ten feet back.

"Oh shit! Are you okay, man?" said one of the blonds' friends as they rushed over to where he was.

The guy held his bleeding nose with his hand, glaring back at the raven haired man who caused it. "That's it! You're dead! Get that son of a bitch!" said the muffled voice of the blond while he had his hand covering up his face.

The other two grabbed at their bats and rushed over to Byakuya at the same hoping that at least one of them could get a hit on the man. But sadly for the thugs, Byakuya dodged both their attacks and kicked the fatter one in the face to send him flying off and then dodged the other to quickly punch him in the gut and then punch him in the face as well. Both men were knocked out cold while the blond on the floor looked over to his unconscious friends on the ground. He looked over to Byakuya who glared at him then quickly the blond began scrambling to get up until he could run away.

Byakuya walked over to Rukia, who had a surprised expression in her face at watching her nii-sama handle those three thugs by himself. "Are you okay, Rukia?"

"A-yes nii-sama."

He nodded. "Let's move on to some other place."

Rukia brightened up as an idea came to mind. "Let's go walk around where the stores are located until Ichigo and Ishida get home!" exclaimed Rukia as she stood up and waited for Byakuya to respond.

"That seems like a good idea, better than staying here to find more of those thugs walking around." Rukia began walking away as he followed behind her.

* * *

><p>Ichigo was propped up on his hands as he stretched out his legs and stared up at the sky. "So, have any ideas on where to leave Rukia and Byakuya stay yet?"<p>

Uryū placed his chop sticks down to look over to Ichigo. "Not at all, actually I have no idea where they're going to be staying at." Uryū looked away as an idea popped into his head. "Well, there is one…"

This caught Ichigo's attention and looked over to Uryū who seemed to not want to say his idea. "What? Come on, how bad can it be?"

_Pretty bad._ "How about you let them stay at your parents' house?"

There was silence as Ichigo tried to take everything he just said. "You're kidding, right?"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"You look like you're insane."

Uryū took offence to that and stood up, walking over to where Ichigo was seated. "Care to repeat that." saying it threateningly while his glasses shined due to the sun's rays.

Ichigo scowled and also stood up, looking him right in the face. "I said, you look like you're insa-"

He couldn't finish his sentence as he was pounce by an angry Quincy who pushed him down to the floor. They both struggled to get the upper hand but neither let up. "I dare you to say it again, Kurosaki!" screamed Uryū as he had Ichigo in a head lock.

Ichigo said in a strained voice, "you're insane."

Uryū increased his force in his head lock until Ichigo began standing up and began using that immense strength to grab at Uryū arms to pull himself free. Uryū was slightly surprised but not impressed by how strong Ichigo was. Slowly, Ichigo was beginning to peel away the Quincy's hold on him until they heard a noise coming from the bottom of the school's roof. Both stopped their fighting and rushed over to the rails that kept people from falling off the roof.

They could see that the guy that they were talking to earlier on was running away from a group of three guys who held bats in their hands. "That's it!" Ichigo quickly ran to the door and ignored everything Uryū was saying.

"Kurosaki! You're just going to make things worse!" either way he also followed him and quickly dashed to keep up with the orange-head.

Ichigo made it outside and could see that the guy was heading to a dead end. "Damn!" Ichigo quickly began running in hope of saving the poor guy before he was also sent to the hospital like all the rest, Uryū right behind him as he also saw this play out in his mind.

The young man had a bruise on his left hand for tripping over earlier when he tried to run away and saw that there was no way to escape the thugs that were chasing him down. He looked behind him and noticed that the three thugs had already caught up to him and he had no escape.

"Heh, what do we have here?"

"What else, another one of them fairies!"

"Hah! Look, he's gonna pee in his own pants!"

The young man was scared and closed his eyes as he could already feel that he had no way of coming out of this alive. _Please, I don't want to die!_

"Hyah!"

The young man opened his eyes and looked up to see that the three thugs were lying on the floor unconscious. He wiped away at the salty tears that were coming out and saw that he was rescued by the same guy he talked to in school.

Ichigo walked over to the guy and saw that he flinched when he reached his hand out to help him stand up. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah, thank you." He grabbed at the offered hand and stood up, that's when he noticed that a bespectacled man was standing behind the orange-head savior of his. "Are you two-"

"Why were those three chasing you?" interrupted Uryū as he already knew what the young man was going to say.

"I-I don't know. One minute I was minding my own business and then these three came out of nowhere. They said things like I was wrong and that I was polluting the city just like my brother."

Ichigo's attention was caught. "You're brother?"

The young man nodded. "You see, um," he scratched at his hand, a little uncomfortable at speaking about his brother's sexuality.

Uryū saw this and said, "we understand, you don't need to say anymore than that."

The guy looked relief. "Yeah, so, last night during that whole riot, my brother was one the ones that was injured. He's staying at Karakura General Hospital at the moment."

Ichigo had an idea pop into his head. "Well, we're heading there after school, why don't you join us while we're at it?"

The young man's eyes lit up. "Really?"

Uryū walked forward. "Of course, we don't mind the company. I'm Ishida and this is Kurosaki," saying it as Ichigo crossed his arms over his chest.

The young man saw that Uryū held his hand out for him to shake. He smiled in return. "I'm Rie," he then shook his hand, "nice to meet you."

* * *

><p>Mikio sat outside a large garden as he busied himself with just looking at the flowers blooming and the aroma they were sending out as a breeze blew from time to time. But as soon as he felt someone behind him, his smile disappeared and was replaced with a frown. "What do you want now? I did what I was told, plant a tree near that damn college, what else do you need me to do?"<p>

Kioshi looked at the flowers for a second and then brought his half-lidded gaze over to Mikio. "I merely came to congratulate you, you sent nearly twenty sinners to the hospital or to their death."

"Hmph, what else is new."

"I assume that you also felt the change in wind today, correct?"

Mikio looked up to the sky. "Yeah, I felt it the moment those two Shinigami entered this world. I believe one of them is a girl while the other is a man."

"Correct. Don't try to raise any suspicion for a while; the last thing we need is for them noticing a change in the town."

Mikio nodded. "Fine, anything else?"

"No." Kioshi began walking away and stopped when he was ten feet away from the man sitting on the floor. "Actually, yes there is."

Mikio's eyes widened as he felt his head pound. "Agh!" he grabbed at his head as he felt himself begin to lose feeling in his body.

"I suggest you remove you're annoying surveillance seed or I'll will plunge you into your most greatest fear and you shall never come out in a hundred years from." He then began walking away and released his control on Mikio as he left.

Mikio panted and tried to regain his breath. "Ha-ha-ha. That bastard, who the hell does he think he is threatening me like that." Mikio lifted one of his shaking hands into his coat and brought out a seed. He held it tightly in his palm and crushed it, making it crack and emit a green light as it summoned up a green mist, opening up his palm to let the mist come towards his broken seed, sucking it up into the broken shell, regaining its usual form once the mist came back. "Bastard!"

He stood up and dusted himself off; Mikio looked at his palm and placed his regenerated seed back inside his coat. "Now what in the world could you be planning, Kioshi."

* * *

><p>Rukia enjoyed walking around through all the stores and complimented every single thing that resembled a bunny or anything cute that caught her attention. "Wow, are those real bunnies!" she exclaimed as she got near a pet store window that showed a couple of bunnies moving around.<p>

She looked through the window and kept her eyes on a pure white bunny as it was playing around with its other companions. "The fur is beautiful."

Byakuya looked at her then brought his attention to the furry little thing hopping around. "It does have quite a magnificent coat. Would you like to see it?"

Rukia looked over to Byakuya with wide eyes. "R-really?"

He nodded and walked over to the door, holding it open for her to pass through. Rukia looked over to the bunnies and walked over to a woman who was putting up fish supply. "Excuse me, but could I see those bunnies."

The woman turned around. "Of course!" She walked over to the bunny case and opened the lid. "Which one would you like to see?"

Rukia pointed the completely white one and the lady reached out to pull it out. She held the bunny out for Rukia to grab it and gently she reached out and placed it in her arms. Rukia was amazed at how soft the fur was against her hand, the bunny was a little startled at first but it soon began to relax and started sniffing at the girl that held him.

"It's so beautiful."

The woman nodded in approval. "There's a special on these bunnies for just today. Did you want to buy one?"

Rukia looked up startled by the insane idea of actually owning a pet. "Oh, no I was just-"

"I'll buy it if you want it, Rukia."

She was startled that her nii-sama offered to buy her a real actual bunny. "N-no, of course not! I mean it would be rude and-"

"I'll take it." replied Byakuya to the lady, completely ignoring what Rukia was saying as he moved to the register table.

"B-but nii-sama…"

Soon, they were both outside with a new companion curled up in Rukia's arms. "I think he's sleepy." whispered Rukia as if not to disturb her new pet.

Byakuya looked away from Rukia and notice something not far from them. "Rukia, what is that?" pointing to the thing of his attention.

She looked up and saw that Byakuya was pointing towards an ice-cream shop. "Oh, that's ice-cream, um, I think Ichigo once said that it was made by freezing milk or something, but it's really good! Would you like to try some, nii-sama?"

Byakuya nodded and both walked over to the small store, all the while Rukia kept her new furry friend in her arms tightly secured.

* * *

><p>Ichigo swung his book bag over his shoulder once the bell rang to signal that school was out. "You ready, Ishida?"<p>

Uryū pushed his glasses up. "Of course, but I'm a little unenthusiastic with having to step into Ryūken's hospital, it reeks of his horrible odor."

Ichigo nodded in approval of Uryū's… enthusiasm. "Great. Look, there's Rie, let's get going before the sun goes down."

Ichigo and Uryū walked over to Rie as he had his own book bag secured on his shoulder. "Thanks for accompanying me to the hospital; it really means a lot to me."

Ichigo shrugged his shoulders. "Don't mention it, let's get going."

All three exited the class room with their destination being Karakura Hospital.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**1 . New character, new meaning of the name: Rie: true blessing (girl's name). You'll understand why I gave him such a name when they head into Karakura Hospital.**

**2 . The bunny thing was really sort of something a just came up with, I've seen and touched one before and there really cool. So I thought to incorporate that here, especially with how much Rukia is obsessed with Chappy! Try to lighten things up in this chapter.**

**3 . The little spat in the roof with Ichigo and Uryū was funny in my mind and any type of IchiIshi touching, punching, kicking, or soft caresses of kisses is always good enough for me!**

**4 . As you can see, the OOC are really not a tight union, but they do have the same goal in mind which makes them understand each other enough to support each other.**

**5 . Also, Uryū and Ichigo were able to set some ground rules with their relationship, whether Ichigo likes it or not, but I wonder how they'll take of having a furry creature around their apartment, and how long they'll be able to keep their secret from Byakuya and Rukia. Only the next chapter will tell!**

**And now for excuse: Okay, during the past week I was trap in an endless week of test from test from test that my brain was completely fried and couldn't come up with something, and once I finish all my testing I end up catching the FLU! So I'm deeply sorry for such a late post, but I made it extraly long seeing as I wrote about more than 15 pages, longest chapter so far! But I still feel like crap, don't worry I'll post soon, just as soon as I can stop sneezing my guts out.**

**And thank you for your opinions in the reviews! And I am not offended but pleased at what your ideas are. The next chapter will finally have that father-son interaction you want so much!**

**As always, please leave a review and tell me what you think, I would like to pass the time in reading your opinion in this sickly time of mine.**


	19. Isshin and Ryuken?

**A/N: **

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

* * *

><p>Isshin and Ryūken?<p>

As Uryū, Ichigo, and Rie walked down a street, Rie could tell that there were a lot of people-mainly guys with weapons-staring at them. Well, not Rie exactly but more on Ichigo and Uryū, he glanced at Ichigo and Uryū and could tell that they had slight scowls on their face and that they weren't even fazed by the punks looking at them, more like they were challenging them to just try something on the two as they walked.

"Um, can I ask you guys something?" Rie said in a barely above whispered voice, almost unsure whether to ask his question or not.

Either way, both Ichigo and Uryū turned their heads to look at the smaller boy. "What?" answered Ichigo as he was the most interested in what Rie had to say while Uryū just looked on with a stare as to see what they were going to say.

Rie fidgeted with his sleeve in a discomfort manor. "Well, are you two somehow, um, related?"

Ichigo and Uryū both quickly looked at themselves and looked back at Rie with a bewildered look on their faces. "And how do we resemble each other?" screamed Ichigo while he pointed his finger at Uryū who also looked a bit uncomfortable about being in any way related to the Shinigami.

Rie scratched the back of his head and looked to the ground with a slight blush going across his face. "Well, you both seem to have the same scowl…"

Ichigo looked away from the other two boys. "Tch, we are in no way related to each other." _And if we were then that would mean that I would be having some sort of incestuous affair with my… brother! No way!_

Uryū pushed his glasses up. "Kurosaki has a point, and moving to other matters in hand," he turned his head to look at Rie, "I was wondering why you have such a strange name-not that there's anything wrong with it, of course!"

Rie shook his head in order to stop the Quincy from embarrassing himself any further. "Actually, my brother was the one that gave me that name."

Ichigo looked over to him in confusion. "Your brother? Why not your mom or dad?"

Rie got a sad look on his face and looked down to the path they were walking on. "My mother died giving birth to me, and my father died in a car accident before I was born, leaving my brother to take care of me." He looked straight forward as he remembered the words his brother told him. "My brother said that I was a _true blessing_ to have been born so he gave me a name that went with what he thought suited me best. I really don't care if my name is a girl's name, I'm just happy that I have such a great brother who has taken care of me for such a long time."

"That's great, you having such a brother who would do anything to keep you safe." said Ichigo as he took a quick glance over to Uryū who had a small smile on his face. He didn't know why but the need to also protect his boyfriend made him all the more happy, even thought he knew that Uryū wouldn't want to be protected.

Uryū looked up and saw that they were nearing the hospital. "Well, were almost there, sadly."

"Huh?"

Ichigo shook his head. "Don't ask."

* * *

><p>Ryūken pushed Isshin back to the bed after he felt that he was getting a bit too comfortable in the room with the doctor. "I told you already, I'm busy! Go bother somebody else, Kurosaki."<p>

Isshin pouted as he got rejected from the frowning doctor who again busied himself in reaching for another file. "But Ryu-chan! Are you so busy that you don't even have the time for a quick lip to lip ac-"

"Keep on talking and I'll make sure you'll never use those lips again, Kurosaki."

He crossed his arms over his chest in mock pout. "Hmph, you're so mean Ryu-chan." He then began to tap the bed with his fingers making an annoying sound all the while.

Ryūken tried to ignore the sound of finger tapping but it proves to be more than he could handle, especially since Isshin picked up his pace in his tapping. He turned around and glared at Isshin. "Will you stop being annoying or should I just kick you out."

"But I just want one simple little kiss from Ryu-chan! I don't think that's unfair, but you are really being unfair for not bringing your luscious lips over here to mine-mmpphh."

Ryūken had, had enough to hear from the other man that he just marched over to him and smashes his lips on top of Isshin to stop any more words coming from his obnoxious mouth. Luckily, he got the man to shut up, but he soon realized that it was a bad idea as soon as Isshin began to bring his body closer that he soon felt his feet leave the floor and become settled on top of the bed. He knew trying to pull away would be a worthless attempt since the other man seemed to have a good hold on him which led to him wanting something to relax himself with, even if it was for a while. He soon lost complete sense of the world around him which would soon come back to bite him later.

* * *

><p>Mikio crunched another nut in his hand as his tree continued to drop them to the floor. <em>Bastard, what the hell am I supposed to do now! And what are you doing with that girl? One thing's for sure, I'm not going to sit by and do nothing while there are still sinners to be punished.<em> He stood up and dusted his clothes off. "I wonder how much damage I caused last night with that little riot. Guess it's time I head to the hospital to have a look."

He began walking to the direction to where the hospital was and didn't notice that he passed a familiar Shinigami midget and a raven haired Taichou. Said Taichou looked over to Mikio and then quickly glanced away, leaving Mikio to his business to attend to.

* * *

><p>"Um, excuse me, but can I see my brother." said an uncomfortable Rie.<p>

"Sure, what…"

Ichigo was too busy looking around at all the families who were crying at what had transpired during the riot. Some of them even brought get well flowers or cards to leave for their family members. He walked over to them and decided to ask a few questions.

A nurse looked over to Uryū and wondered if he was the Director's son. She quickly looked over his features and concluded that he was his son. The nurse walked up to him and tapped him on his shoulder. "Excuse me, you are Ishida Uryū."

Uryū turned when he felt a tap on his shoulder. "Yes, why?"

"Well, I was wondering if you came to see your father, and if you did he is a little preoccupied with another gentleman at the moment."

Uryū didn't want to sound rude at the nurse and merely did a small bow. "Thank you." The nurse turned and went back to her job.

Ichigo walked over to him and saw that he had an irritated look. "What's wrong with you?"

Uryū shook his head. "Nothing. Are we done here or do you need to do a survey of everyone who is her." already losing his composure and cool the longer he stayed in the same hospital that Ryūken worked at.

The Shinigami could tell that Uryū was acting a bit grouchier then usually but he just put it off as not wanting to be in the hospital. "Yeah, just let me go say bye to Rie and then we could go." Ichigo departed from Uryū as he made his way to a hallway. Uryū stayed where he was at and didn't notice the man that almost killed him enter the hospital. Although, when he looked over to the strange man, he could feel something peculiar about him.

Mikio looked around at all the families that were seated and merely took a quick glance at them. His gaze soon stopped on a familiar face that was also looking at him with a scowl. He felt a slight itch that was pulling him to bring out his seed and finish the job until he took notice that the young Quincy couldn't have known who he was since he never showed his face to him. He smiled and walked away, not wanting to start something he knew he shouldn't start and not end.

Uryū was about to follow the strange man until he saw a familiar raven-haired father. "K-Kurosaki-san?" the man stopped and turned around to see the son of the man he just visited with.

"Ishida? What are you doing here?" asked the confused Isshin with an innocent look on his face. He knew that Uryū was pretty smart at being able to figure things out but he hoped that he wouldn't ask him what he was doing in the hospital rather than being in the clinic.

Uryū walked closer to the man who looked to be acting more innocent than he usually acts. "I'm here with Kurosaki; he said he wanted to see how the people were doing here."

Isshin looked at Uryū like he was pondering something. "Oh, sounds like Ichigo. Hmm, come to think of it, didn't you get evicted from your apartment?"

Uryū frowned. "I did, but who told you?" surely Ichigo didn't tell him. He's been too busy to make any phone calls let alone go visit his family any time of the week. But the way Isshin said it made him wonder if someone told him which would mean that the only other suspect would be… Ryūken?

The older man shook his head and waved his hands at him. "Ah, never mind! It's none of my business any way! Tell that delinquent of a son of mine that he better be behaving and come visit his little sisters soon!" that being said Isshin quickly made his way to the exit and kept on running.

"Maybe I should go visit Ryūken," mumbled Uryū as he walked over to the receptionist desk and pointed with his dumb to the man that just left. "Does that man usually come here?"

A nurse looked up from her work. "Usually? Almost like always. It's like he has nothing better to do and locks himself away in your father's office even when your father isn't in it. Sometimes they both leave together when work seems to be more taken care of. Something really strange is going on with those two, but none of us want to ask the Director for fear that he could fire us just like one of our co-worker he fired not too long ago."

"Fired?"

The nurse nodded. "She looked very interested in the man with black hair that she would have on a skimpier outfit to try and gain his attention. She didn't get it but the Director sure did fire her the moment he heard what she was doing."

Another nurse inputted into the conversation as she hanged up the phone. "I heard it's because that man told the Director personally and that he may be in cahoots with the Yakuza or something."

When Uryū saw that the nurses were beginning to come up with more weird scenarios for Isshin he put his hands up, "thank you, so is it okay for me to go visit right now?"

"Oh, sure!"

He gave a nod and walked away from the counter. _I always forget how the nurses can gossip in their free time._ Uryū then began thinking about some of the things the nurses said before they went into crazy details about Isshin. _Why would Kurosaki-san come visit Ryūken? And why would Ryūken even allow someone to interfere with his work let alone Kurosaki-san? He's hiding something and I'm going to figure out what it is._

"Hey, Ishida, ready to go?"

Uryū looked over to the orange-head that was coming towards him. "Kurosaki, I was just thinking in visiting Ryūken for a moment, mind joining me?"

Ichigo looked confused as to why Uryū would now decide to see his father even though he told him that he didn't want to come in contact with him when they arrived at the hospital. "I guess." Uryū nodded and he followed him to where Ryūken's office would be located. He could almost see a strange aura around Uryū that made him want to pull the young Quincy away from the hospital. Uryū had his fists clenched and he looked like he was ready to go fight his father rather than just 'visiting' him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." saying it in a stern voice that could rival against Byakuya's.

Ichigo decided that it was best not to anger the Quincy anymore than he already was. _I wonder why he's so worked up._ He saw that they were getting near a door and soon they both stopped in front of it. Before Uryū could raise his hand and knock on it, a voice called out from the other side.

"Come in."

Uryū hesitated a little in opening the door and turned his head to look at Ichigo. "Can you wait out here?" _I rather not have whole scandal happening if what I'm thinking is correct._

"Sure, whatever. Just hurry up, I'm getting hungry." Ichigo said as he placed his hands on his hips.

Uryū brought his attention to the door knob and turned it. He opened the door and closed it when he entered the room. He looked over to where Ryūken was standing at which was in front of a filing cabinet holding a file in front of his face.

"I never would have thought that you would visit on your own accord, Uryū." not once turning around to look at the frowning Quincy.

Uryū didn't move from his place in front of the door and narrowed his eyes at Ryūken. "I only came here to ask you a question. How did Kurosaki-san know that I had been evicted from my apartment? The only person who could have known would have been you and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't go around gossiping about my eviction to just anyone."

"And what could you be insinuating, Uryū? Don't tell me, you talked to those gossiping nurses in the front desk; surely you wouldn't take those rumors seriously. They would say anything to make matters sound over-dramatic."

Uryū looked around the room as if trying to look for something. "At first, I would have ignored what they were saying but when I ran into Kurosaki-san I realized that he was in a bit hurry to leave the hospital. Also, the way you're avoiding my question proves my point all the more. You're hiding something aren't you, Ryūken."

Ryūken closed his file as loud as it could be closed. "You always did lack manors, Uryū. But if you're so curious about why Kurosaki was here then let me tell you. He was only here to help with the patients that were piling up last night. If that's all you want to know then I suggest you leave, I have other important issues to attend to."

Uryū furrowed his brow at how Ryūken seemed to be avoiding the subject at hand but let it slide for now. He turned around and opened the door not even saying anything in return to the other man who seemed to be busy at the moment.

Ichigo was leaning on the wall with his arms across his chest. "Huh, took you long enough."

Uryū shook his head. "Sorry, let's go back to your apartment."

They soon began exiting the building and Uryū remembered to tell Ichigo something. "I saw your father here when you left to say goodbye to Rie. He said you should visit more often."

Ichigo looked at him from the edge of his eye. "Really, my old man was here? What the hell could he be doing here, anyway?"

"Ryūken said that he came to help the patients that were in need of treatment."

"Ah, that makes sense. It would be weird if that idiot came here for other reasons. Also, I don't think Ishida-san would have let it slide if he came here often."

_Kurosaki-san and Ryūken? No, I must be thinking too much to ever consider such a thing. But could it really be that implausible?_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Christmas! Please leave a review and tell me what you think of this chapter, your opinion matters. And if you didn't review the other chapter please do so. **

**I'm hoping to post the next chapter soon so be on the look out!**

**Peace!**


	20. Next Move

**A/N: Warning: A bit smutty! You have been warned!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything.**

* * *

><p>Next Move<p>

Orihime shifted in her bed and noticed that her door was closed. _Probably Tatsuki-chan closed the door when she came back._ She sits up on the bed and notices that her window is open, she then stands and goes over to close it. Her hands stopped when a… butter knife struck the windowsill.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you."

Orihime looked out of the window and saw that same man that keeps following her around sitting on a tree branch. "Why are you doing there?"

He merely turned another page of his book, not looking towards her. "Reading."

Orihime was a little unsure of what to do since Kioshi didn't want her to close her window. "Well, I'm going to close the window now-"

"If you do I'll break the window."

"Why?"

"I have to keep watch of you at all times."

She walked towards her bed and sat at on the edge of the bed, her head low. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Yes."

She jumped to the floor when Kioshi was seated on the other side of the bed with his book still in hand. "Why me?" Orihime began standing from her position on the floor.

Kioshi's eyes kept on scanning the pages of his book as he talked, "because you denied my help, all I'm trying to do is for you to let me give you my assistance."

Orihime crossed her arms and held her sides. "Assistance on what?"

"On making Kurosaki Ichigo yours."

She shook her head and at the same time tried to take in what he was saying. It was wrong, crazy, something she wouldn't do. She didn't want to get Ichigo because of some assistance form a stranger; she wanted to win his heart like any other girl would do. "It's not-"

"Right? Is that what you were going to say?" He closed his book and walked over to her, standing in front of her. He pulled out a mirror from his coat jacket and showed it to her. "Concentrate on the mirror and you'll see something that isn't _right_."

Orihime at first didn't trust the man but nonetheless, she looked at the mirror and furrowed her brows at her reflection and soon the mirror began showing her another complete different image of something else.

It looked like Ichigo and Uryū.

"_Your beautiful." said a half-naked Ichigo as he began to kiss a fully naked Uryū all around. He planted kisses from his face to his chest, where his mouth seemed to have busied itself with Uryū's nipple and his hand worked on his neglected twin. Uryū soon began to thrash around on the bed, almost like he couldn't take the pleasure he was receiving._

"_K-Kurosaki please-I-need-you-now!" screamed the Quincy who was under a tanned body of pure muscle, glistening with sweat. He soon brought Ichigo's face towards his and kissed him, his tongue could be seen mashing with Ichigo's. "Now, do it now!" Ichigo then began to reach for a bottle of what appeared to be lube. Uryū then began to move his hands onto Ichigo's boxers and began tugging them down-_

Orihime's eyes-widen and she slapped the mirror away from her face. "Stop!" she felt tears pilling up in her eyes and she crouched down to the floor, shame coming over her. After what she just saw, she might as well been in the same room as the two while they did… that.

Kioshi looked down at the quivering girl and placed his mirror back inside his coat. "Now do you see what really isn't _right_? Do you think whatever I could do to help you would make your doing any worse than theirs."

Orihime brought her legs up to her chest and hugged them with her arms, tears coming out more forceful now. "B-but no, y-you did something! Kurosaki-kun and Ishida-kun would never… there not like that!" she knew that what she saw could be nothing less than the truth but somewhere deep down Orihime couldn't believe that her two friends would indulge in something so-so wrong! Aren't men supposed to be attracted to women? Not the same sex! Nothing made sense anymore.

Kioshi kneeled down and took the crying girls face in his hand. "You can help them. You know as well as I do that they are merely confused," he made sure that his words were soft and sweet in order to get Orihime to agree with him, "they were probably passing through a hormonal phase and now they don't know what to do with themselves." Kioshi leaned in closer to her, "so I ask you," he softly petted her head with his unoccupied hand and whispered, "help them."

Orihime still had a couple of tear stains on her face but she understood what Kioshi was saying. "Help them?" she softly whispered. Kioshi nodded his head and brought the hand that was petting her head to her cheeks, wiping away her tears and the stains. Her face was slightly red from all her crying and her eyes were puffy. Slowly, Orihime closed her eyes and nodded her head. "Okay."

* * *

><p>Ichigo looked over his shoulder to Uryū and saw that he was looking down at the road, lost in thought. He began to walk a bit slower to be right next to the wondering Quincy. "What's got you all serious about?"<p>

Uryū had a surprised look on his face when he looked up; Ichigo was walking next to him and had that scowl that said what's-wrong? He shook his head and Ichigo groaned. "Nothing to worry yourself with, Kurosaki, I was just thinking about something that has no importance."

"But if you were thinking so hard about it than it had to be important. Especially, since it's _you_ that were talking about."

Uryū's hand tighten on the clasp of his book bag and tried to not get annoyed with the stubborn Shinigami who didn't want to leave matters be. "I said it was nothing, so if I say it's nothing then it's nothing."

Ichigo's scowl deepened at the way Uryū was not telling him what was on his mind. "Well I say it was something because you're trying to avoid telling me what it is. So spill it!"

Uryū stopped his walking and returned the scowl over to Ichigo's direction with a bit more fury than he wanted to. "Look, if I don't want to tell you something that doesn't mean that you have to go prying me for information with your annoyance! And besides since when do you start getting worried about me?" screaming it out a bit louder than it needed to be but Ichigo didn't back down.

"Because you're my friend!" making it sound like that was a good enough reason for him to know what Uryū was hiding, that for some reason he didn't want him to know.

Uryū looked away, taking a couple of seconds before replying. "It doesn't concern you."

The next thing he knew was that he was hauled by the collar of his shirt as Ichigo brought him closer to his face. "The hell it doesn't! What's with you lately anyway? You're being so secretive that it's getting on my nerve! Why not try telling me what's on your mind because really, I'm not going to accept that bullshit of 'it doesn't concern you' from you anymore!"

Uryū reached up and grabbed at Ichigo's hand that was on the collar of his shirt and began pulling it away from him. Ichigo was slightly taken back by this but Uryū kept on holding on to his hand after moving it away from his shirt. "Look at us, fighting like nothing has changed," he whispered in a calm voice which made Ichigo's scowl start to lose its strength. "Can you promise me something, Kurosaki?" making sure to make eye contact with the orange-head, making him realize that this was serious.

"Sure," not wanting to look away from the sapphire eyes that were Uryū.

"Once we make it back to the apartment I'll tell you but until then, try to be patient. I also find it hard to believe at what I'm actually contemplating at the moment," not once letting go of Ichigo's hand as he held it in his, slipping his hand into Ichigo's.

In return, Ichigo held his hand tighter in his grasp as in assuring him that he'll wait, 'till they make it to the apartment to talk about what's bothering the Quincy. "Alright," and they soon begin to turn around and walk away, hands still clasped together.

* * *

><p>Rukia looked at the door in front of her. "Well, there not back yet." She held the bunny closer to her chest as it fell asleep not too long ago. "I sure wish they kept a key hidden around here," looking around to see if they could have hidden a key around the front door.<p>

Byakuya began walking away, making sure that Rukia couldn't have heard his steps. He noticed something shinny on the floor and bent down to pick it up. He examined it for a while and then walked back over to Rukia. "Step aside, Rukia."

Rukia did what she was told and looked over to Byakuya in confusion. "N-nii-sama?"

Byakuya took the silver thing in his hand and began tweaking it to make it fit the key-hole. Once he was sure it would fit, he moved it inside the key-hole and began moving it inside all the while he had his other hand on the door knob. Not once did he look around to make sure that anyone could be walking around as he continued but luckily the door soon came unlocked. He turned the door knob and it opened completely which made Rukia's eyes widen in surprise.

"Nii-sama? How-"

"We shall never talk about this."

Rukia nodded and walked through the door as Byakuya held it open for her. He then entered and closed the door behind him. Turning on the light to make the room brighten up from the darkness it once held. "Hm, I wonder what is keeping those boys to return."

Rukia went over to the couch and took a seat. "Who knows? But at least we don't have to keep waiting outside the room like fools."

Byakuya pulled out a kitchen chair and took a seat on it. "Perhaps they had errands to run, either way it is getting awfully late."

Rukia carefully placed her new bunny on the couch and walked over to the TV, turning it on and turning the volume down. "Huh, a news channel? Ichigo doesn't strike me the kind to watch this." She then changed the channel until she found something more enjoyable. She stopped surfing the channels when a game show came on and walked over to pull out a chair right across from Byakuya.

"All we can do for now is wait."

* * *

><p>Ryūken walked out of the hospital and noticed a raven haired man leaning against his car. "Now what do you want?" saying it as he took out his car keys to open his door.<p>

Isshin crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't you think we should tell our boys what is going on between us? I mean your kid is really bright that I'm not sure we should keep something like this hidden from them, at least."

Ryūken opened his door and didn't look over to Isshin as he held it in his hand. "If we did that then they would reject us, more so for keeping this a secret for such a long time, not to mention Uryū already seems not to take a liking to me already. But we shouldn't talk about this here. Go home and I'll think about this." He got inside his car and closed his door. He then heard the passenger door open and saw Isshin get in.

"Like I don't know what 'I'll think about this' really means. We'll go to your place and settle this there." All the while he buckled his seat belt.

Ryūken shook his head as he reached for his own seat belt. "Stubborn as always, Isshin," he started the car as he pretended not to notice the other mans smile on his face. The car soon left the parking of the hospital and speeded away.

* * *

><p>When Ichigo and Uryū were in sight of the apartment complex they released each other's hands and acted liked they never held hands as they continued to walk into the building. Once they saw that night was coming upon them, they hurried a bit faster into the building. Soon, they made it to their door and Ichigo noticed that the door was picked. He turned the knob and opened the door. At first he expected the room to be a mess since it could have been a thief who could have entered the room but instead he saw something he never thought he would ever see.<p>

"Ishida, is that normal?"

Uryū looked over to what Ichigo was pointing to and his face went red. "I… don't think so."

Byakuya was holding a sleeping Rukia around her waist in his lap as he had his head on top of hers. Both Uryū and Ichigo could tell that they had fallen asleep in that position but neither wanted to know the reason to their… closeness.

Ichigo placed his bag on the floor and closed the door behind him. Uryū went into the little kitchen and began to pull out some left-overs from last night.

"Do you think we should wake them up?"

Uryū placed a plate inside the microwave as he talked, "sure, if you want a zanpakutō down your throat, be my guest."

Ichigo ignored his comment and went to change the channel of the TV then without looking at what he was doing, he stepped back until he sat on the couch and felt something soft under him. "Hey, we never had a pillow so soft before, have we?" he placed his hand under his butt and began to pull the soft thing out. He brought it up to his face and then noticed the thing was moving and had eyes staring back at him. "Holy shit!" he stood up and the bunny hopped back down into the cushions of the soft couch.

Uryū quickly came over to Ichigo. "What? What is it?"

The only thing Ichigo could do was point at the bunny that settled itself on the couch and hid its face behind a pillow. "That. What the hell is a damn bunny doing here?"

Uryū raised a brow at the fluffy creature that was hiding behind a pillow. "I believe it belongs to Kuchiki-san."

"That's it! I'm going to wake those two up!" Ichigo marches over to the two Sleeping Beauties and shook Byakuya awake. "Hey! Wake up! Wa-ahh!"

Byakuya glared at the orange-head Shinigami that lay on the floor from the impact of his own kick he gave the boy at his stomach. "You should learn some manors before you try that again, Kurosaki," using that cold tone of his that would freeze up any normal person.

He then stood up and moved Rukia into a bridal style as he switched her position. "What is it that you needed to use that disrespectful voice of yours, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo stood up and scowled at the man, "for starters, you can start by telling me what a damn bunny is doing on my couch!" pointing at the couch with his index finger.

Byakuya looked over to the couch where the young Quincy stood by. "Ask Rukia-"

"Fine, wake-"

"When she wakes up."

Ichigo stopped his voice from going anymore higher and stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. "By the way, where are you two going to stay?"

"I figure if neither of you have a problem that you would share the bedroom while we stay out here until tomorrow." He said while walking over to the couch to lay Rukia down.

Uryū moved to the kitchen area and took out two plates to set on the table. "I don't care, you Kurosaki?" he said looking over to Ichigo who took a seat on a chair.

"Don't care. You hungry Byakuya?"

Byakuya sat down near the end of the couch and shook his head. Ichigo quickly turned his attention to the meal placed before him and began digging in. Uryū sat across Ichigo and began eating his own food, more efficient than the other who looked like he was just shoving his food down his throat.

By the time both men finished their meals, they could see that Byakuya had fallen asleep in a sitting down position while Rukia was sleeping away in a more comfortable position. Ichigo brought them a blanket and laid it over her and some on Byakuya.

He then watched as Uryū headed into the shower, and he got a sneaky idea as he saw the Quincy close the door. Ichigo walked closer to the door and began to see if the door was locked. To his surprise, the door was not locked and he just waited on the other side of the door to wait for Uryū to start the shower and get in.

It didn't take long for Uryū to start the shower and get in; Ichigo on the other hand thought it was the longest minutes of his life. He opened up the door the moment he heard the water pounding on the tile floor. Ichigo could see Uryū's silhouette body as he rubbed some shampoo onto his head. Ichigo began taking off his shirt and let it drop to the floor without a sound and soon came off his pants after discarding his socks. He then was completely nude and walked over to the shower curtain, carefully; he pulled it away to see a fully naked Uryū with his eyes closed as he let the water pound on him.

"Kurosaki, you know I can sense your reiatsu, right?" said a water drenched Uryū.

Ichigo smiled and got inside, closing the curtain behind him, soon, he was also drenched as his hair began sticking to his forehead. "I kinda forgot about that, and here I thought I was being sneaky." He reached over to the shampoo and filled his palm with it only for it to be stolen by the Quincy. Ichigo was about to retort a reply to this only for Uryū to rub it on his head.

"Hm, and here I had other ideas on mind, but moving to other things, what is it that you were hiding that you were going to tell me?" he asked as the Quincy kept lathering his hair with the shampoo.

Uryū shook his head. "Really, you pick the most uncomfortable times to ask something like that, but I guess this would be a good place to begin. I've been thinking of something which makes me find really hard to believe."

Ichigo switched positions with him and began washing out his hair. "So, come out with it."

Uryū swiped his wet bangs away from his face and then looked at Ichigo as he reached out for the soap. "Well, I think that… our-well your father and Ryūken could be seeing each other."

"Huh? Well they do have eyes, Ishida."

The Quincy shook his head and got closer to Ichigo as if showing him what he really meant. "I mean more like _this_ seeing."

Ichigo's gaze then went down when the soap slipped from his hand. "Uh, I don't think I like what you're trying to say there. My dad with your old man like," he gestured to their bodies, "this, I don't even want to know what the hell would be going through their minds to want to do something like that. Besides, what gave you the idea that they were like that?"

Uryū crouched down to pick up the soap and could tell Ichigo was watching his every move. "Don't even think about that, you perv," he stood back up and handed him the soap, "and I say it because the nurses in the front counter were talking about how they both would spend so much time together, were talking about Ryūken here, he rather shoot your father with an arrow than to spend time ever trying to come in contact with him let alone make conversation."

The Shinigami looked away and tried to take in everything that he was told. "But then, that would mean that they…"

"Are in a sexual relationship."

* * *

><p>Isshin pushed Ryūken down on to the bed and then was punched on the side of face. "Oww!" Ryūken quickly switched their positions and got on top of the shirtless man.<p>

"Who says you get to be on top, Kurosaki." He then began to unbuckle Isshin's belt and rid him of his pants and boxers in one swoop. "I rather you not wear those embarrassing boxers again."

Isshin struggled for a bit and then felt a hand going lower. "I-I guess that means I was a bad boy." Ryūken began to rub his hand on his hard-on.

"Hm, something like that. Guess I should teach you some manors, Isshin." Ryūken took off his pants and boxers as he returned back to the other panting man that lay underneath him. He knew that they should stop this before it goes any further but after they decided that they should tell their son's about them, they realized it could be the last time they could get away with something like this.

Ryūken started to kiss the other man and could feel their erections pressing together in unbearable pain. He skipped the foreplay and just went over to reach for the lubricant that rested on top of his nightstand. "We should hurry with this."

Isshin looked at him with half-lidded eyes and shook his head, "you always want to end things too quickly, why don't you try enjoying yourself for once, like when we were-"

"Don't mention that! I already told you that back then was a mistake… just like now." Ryūken began to move off Isshin but was surprised when Isshin wrapped his arms around him. Ryūken tried to push the other man away but Isshin just held him tighter.

"No! This is not wrong. Ryūken please let me top this time to show you that this isn't work like everything else you do. When were like this I don't want you to be stressed out on whether you were able to please me, I want to make sure that I can give you the same pleasure you've given me for a long time." He brought his hand up and caressed the other man's face.

Ryūken looked away from him and said, "just this once." He then was laid on his back as Isshin settled on top of him.

Isshin reached for the lube and lubricated his fingers; slowly he began to insert a finger inside him. He noticed that Ryūken cringed at the pain that he has never felt in such a long time. "Are you okay?"

"Idiot, do you really need to ask. And you call yourself a doctor."

"Ha, well, there's always room for more improvement." He then inserted another finger which made Ryūken arch his back. "I'm going to go in."

"Stop saying what you're going to-ahh-do and just, ahh, do it!" Ryūken then felt himself be broken in two as Isshin pushed inside him. How long has it been since he actually been in the receiving end of this? Far too long. He never felt what it was like to just sit back and relax and give into the true pleasures of what he and Isshin would call sex.

Isshin soon began moving on top of the other man, starting in a slow pace before increasing once he felt Ryūken wrap his legs around his waist. When he heard the man scream out "faster, harder" he complied with his request not once making the other man have anything to complain about.

"Ahhh! M-more!" Ryūken could feel that he was reaching the point of euphoria and he was going to reach it with Isshin.

"I love you." Whispered Isshin to his ear and Ryūken's eyes widen. But before he could reply, Isshin came and filled him up with his seed.

Soon, both men were spent and where just laying on each other, hearing the other pant as they tried to calm their breathing back down. Ryūken was the first to catch his breath and pushed the other man away from him. Surprising him as he went to place his boxers on and then going to look for his pants.

Isshin sat up when Ryūken began placing on his pants. "Wha-what are you doing?"

Ryūken turned his back on the raven-haired man as he buckled up his belt. "Go," having a stern tone all the while as he talked, "the next time we see each other will be in front of our son's and then I want nothing more to do with you, Kurosaki."

Isshin was bewildered at why he was acting so cold all of the sudden. "But-"

The door closed as Ryūken exited the room.

"What did I do?"

* * *

><p>Ichigo began kissing up Uryū's neck when they settled that they would meet their parents and discuss what they were hiding. But right now he didn't want to think about either of them, he just wanted to lose himself on Uryū and how strong his pale, white legs were as he wrapped them around his waist.<p>

Uryū loved the attention Ichigo placed on his neck; he loved it more when he began licking the area he just kissed. "K-Kurosaki, please just don't stop. I n-need you more than ahhh!" he felt Ichigo push his body up and begin to kiss up his chest. He threw his head back the more Ichigo got closer to his nipples, making it make contact with the wall behind him.

"Can we-can we do it."

"Just because you're doing this," strained Uryū in a tight voice. He was glad that he was being held in Ichigo's arms or else his legs wouldn't have held him up and that would have been embarrassing all the more for him. "I want it."

Ichigo groaned at hearing him say that. "I would never leave you unsatisfied, Uryū." He then inserted his erect penis inside of Uryū who happily accepted it as he wrapped his arms around Ichigo even tighter. Ichigo then began bouncing the armful of Quincy up and down, and heard him gasp in pleasure.

"W-we need to finish quickly or-ahhh-the water will get-uhh-cold!"

Ichigo quickened his pace and did what his Quincy said. In any other occasions he wouldn't but seeing him so deep in pleasure and knowing that he was the one doing that made him forget about everything he would have done. "U-Uryū, come for me."

The Quincy knew he couldn't reject an offer like that when he really was about to explode. "Ichigo!" came out his cry as he screamed it to the small closed room, reaching that point of pure heaven and Ichigo was there with him.

"Uryū!" Ichigo soon spilled his seed inside Uryū and neither one of them noticed the strange flow of their reiatsu's slowly slipping inside of Uryū's body once Ichigo released his seed, both having their eyes closed. "That was amazing." Panted out Ichigo as he slowly let Uryū slip from his arms and made sure to stand him upright or else he would fall.

Uryū let his head rest on Ichigo's shoulder. "Turn off the shower," whispered Uryū into his ear. Ichigo complied as he reached over and turned the knob off. "We can't keep doing this, at least for a while."

Ichigo nodded his head in understanding and got out of the shower with a very tired Quincy. "Are you okay?" he never knew Uryū could get so tired over making love, not that they have much experience in the subject seeing as this was their second time.

Uryū nodded and soon felt the dizziness go away. "Yeah, just tired. We should hurry and head to bed."

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><p><strong>AN: Can someone please tell me if I have the characters in character or at least somewhat near that. I tend to suck at the girl characters so I wonder if it at least is somewhere near. **

**Criticism or comments are welcomed, so please review! **


	21. Father and Son

**A/N: THANKS for the reviews guys! They're very much appreciated and don't worry, everything will be answered soon. **

**Warning: Uryū might be a bit out of character in the beginning.**

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><p>Father and Son<p>

Uryū was quietly thrashing with the bed sheets as he was sleeping on the left of the bed, and if Ichigo wasn't holding him from behind he would probably be on the floor by now. Uryū turned his head to a side and then to the other side, almost as if he was having a bad dream that he couldn't get out.

"Mmmm-hhahh," he softly began panting and his hands clenched the sheets as he felt something inside him. While he remained asleep Ichigo began waking up as he could feel the man beside him stir more than usual. But when Ichigo brought his body closer to his chest Uryū instantly stopped thrashing and let out a soft sigh, going back to a peaceful sleep.

Ichigo looked at the body he was holding in bewilderment. _That was strange? Wasn't he right now thrashing around? Must have been dreaming._ He closed his eyes back up and let his dreams take over.

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><p>Takeshi cracked another rock in his hand as he, Masaru, and Norio walked around in the forest. "Tch, when are we going to make it to the damn Seireitei? We've been walking around in a damn slow pace that even a damn monkey can make it before we ever will," said an irritated Takeshi.<p>

Masaru looked behind him to see the irritation on Takeshi's face. "Be patient. We-"

"Patient!" screamed Takeshi as _his_ patience was wearing thin.

A spark of ice particles was forming as he seemed to get angrier than usual and Masaru saw this. "Stop! Or you'll increase your reiatsu and make yourself and the rest of us noticeable!"

But Takeshi wasn't listening to him. "The hell with that! I've been waiting patiently long enough and-"

"You're right."

Both Takeshi and Masaru looked over to Norio who had his back turned to them. "Oh, and do you mean by that?" asked a confused Takeshi who now seemed to have forgotten about his anger to let his power go drastically down to nonexistent.

"We must hurry. So then, let us get there before sunset."

Takeshi smirked and then all three men disappeared from their location to reach the Seireitei.

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><p>Morning had arisen and Ichigo was already getting dressed as he let Uryū remain on the bed as he snuggled with the pillow. "Heh, I've never knew Ishida liked to snuggle," commented Ichigo as he was placing on his shoes. He then exited the room and saw that Rukia was still hogging the couch as she slept while Byakuya was sitting in a chair by the table; his arms crossed almost looking like he wanted something.<p>

Ichigo walked over to the kitchen and began taking out some eggs. He then looked back over to Byakuya and saw that he was a bit irritated. "Um, are you hungry or something?"

Byakuya didn't even look at him and only responded with a grunt. Ichigo's eyebrow twitched and took this as a yes. "Well, I'm going to make eggs, then."

The whole time Ichigo was making breakfast, Uryū decided to grace them with his presence after coming out of the room all dressed up. He looked over to Ichigo and saw that he was making more eggs than the necessary for two people as he cracked another two into the frying pan.

"Good morning, Kuchiki-san," he said acknowledging Byakuya, who merely grunted back.

Uryū walked over to the cooking Ichigo and gave him a bewildered look. "What's up with him?" whispered Uryū, not wanting to let Byakuya listen in to what he was saying.

Ichigo whispered back, "I think he's hungry and doesn't know how to cook."

Uryū choked on his spit and tried to cover his mouth with his hand as he tried to control the abnormal chuckling coming out of his mouth. Ichigo looked over to the Quincy with a raised brow. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Uryū almost never laughs and he especially never _chuckles_.

Uryū tried to talk over his chuckling. "Ku-Kuchiki-san doesn't cook," he said while keeping it in a whispered voice with a bit of a high squeak.

Ichigo was definitely now starting to worry about the young Quincy. He let go of the frying pan and began to smack his back. "Hey, calm down will 'ya." It worked and Uryū began to cough to cover the fact that he was chuckling.

"Y-yes, sorry." Uryū then walked over to the fridge to get some orange juice out. Not baring the thought of displaying such embarrassing behavior in front of Ichigo. Let alone laughing at something as simple as Byakuya not knowing how to cook. _What the hell was that?_

Ichigo went back to finishing the eggs and watched Uryū from the edge of his eyes as he poured juice into four cups. _What is up with Ishida? I guess I should ask him later._ "Well, at least I'm done." Ichigo placed two eggs on four separate plates and then placed them on the table, going back to get chopsticks for everyone.

Byakuya took the chopsticks that Ichigo handed him and looked at the food placed before him, then looked over to the yellowish substance in the cup that was at the side of his plate. "What is that weird liquid in the cup, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo was over to where Rukia was laying and brought her a plate as well. "Its orange juice, good source of vitamin c." Ichigo then shook Rukia awake and she opened her eyes to see Ichigo handing her a mouthwatering dish. She sat up and took the plate as she began to eat on the couch with her legs crossed Indian style.

Ichigo walked over to the table and tried to look where to eat since they only had two chairs in the room and both were occupied by Byakuya and Uryū. Uryū saw this and made room for Ichigo to share his seat. The orange-head raised an eyebrow but took it seeing as he didn't want to eat standing up.

When Ichigo looked over to Byakuya, he saw that he was just looking at the dish in front of him like it wasn't really food. "Yo, it's just eggs. Don't tell me you never ate eggs before."

Byakuya glared at Ichigo and then looked back down to the weird white-yellowish thing on his plate. He took his chopsticks and pocked at it, the food in turn did a wiggled a bit and that didn't seem right to him, but before he could speak up, Rukia interrupted him.

"It's really good nii-sama. Give it a try."

Byakuya again brought his attention to eat and then took it in to his mouth. Once he swallowed it down, he said, "not bad," and continued eating the rest.

Ichigo stood up from his chair once he finished drinking his juice and eating his eggs. "So, where are you guys going to stay at?"

"Down the hall," answered Byakuya like if he was just asked what the weather was.

"Huh?" Ichigo was confused at what he meant by that.

"I rented out the room across the hall from here when I went down to take the matter up with the man who owns this place."

Rukia went over to the sink and looked at Byakuya with wide-eyes and a shine of admiration could be seen. "You're always ready for anything, nii-sama."

Ichigo rolled his eyes and took the plate that Uryū was handing him so he could begin to wash the dishes. While Ichigo was washing the dishes he felt a pair of arms go around his midsection and a puff of air was blown onto his ear. He paled and figured that it was Uryū who was doing this. "A-are you okay, Ishida?"

"Mmm-hmm, you just look really cute washing the dishes-"

Uryū's and Ichigo's eyes went wide and Uryū quickly pulled away from Ichigo like if he was the plague. Uryū looked behind him and was glad that both Rukia and Byakuya didn't seem to see anything that happened just a few moments ago. He walked over to a chair and took a seat on it, covering his face with one hand as he placed it on his forehead.

Byakuya and Rukia stood up after having a conversation and walked to the door. "Ichigo, we'll be down the hall if you need anything," and they exited the room, leaving Ichigo alone with a strange behaved Uryū.

"Guess we should go to Karakura Hospital since our classes don't start 'till later," said Ichigo as he scratched the back of his head, not liking the awkwardness of the room.

Uryū stood up and nodded. "That would be best, the faster we get things sorted out the faster we can understand what is going on with those two. Oh, and I think it would be best if we didn't tell them we were in a relationship."

"Tch, like I would just blur it out to those freaks." Ichigo walked over to the door and stopped when he looked at the couch. "Wait a minute, Rukia forgot her damn bunny!"

Uryū grabbed him by the arm so he didn't scare the poor thing. "Leave it. We have other matters to attend to." Uryū then began pulling Ichigo away from the curled up bunny in the couch. He struggled to get to the bunny, but then stopped as he remembered something else.

"Hey, you've been acting weird lately, everything okay with you?" he said as he looked over to Uryū with a worried face.

Uryū looked at him and shook his head. "Fine, I'm probably just coming down with something. Now let's go before we waste precious time here."

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><p>Ryūken walked into his office and was surprised that Isshin wasn't in there before he was. <em>That's right, I told him I didn't want anything to do with him. Hmph, it's better this way anyway. How could someone like him truly lo-<em>

Ryūken was cut off of his thoughts as he heard someone knocking on his door. He walked over to it and opened it up to reveal Isshin scratching the back of his head. As he was about to say something, Isshin beat him to it.

"I'm only here because I have a strange feeling that Ichigo and Ishida-kun will be coming by, so don't worry," he then pointed to the bed, "mind if I lay down?"

Ryūken was a bit shocked to hear that Isshin was asking permission to get on his bed, but it didn't show on his face. "Sure." And Isshin walked over to the bed and laid down on his side facing away from Ryūken.

Ryūken could already feel the awkwardness of the room since Isshin walked through the door but now it was simple overwhelming having Isshin just laid there and not say anything. It was almost like having a scolded child in his office but at least he could get more work done.

After about ten minutes of pure silence, Ryūken was beginning to feel a bit uneasy, but then Isshin spoke up.

"Why did you leave?"

That mere question made Ryūken stiffen than any other question he could be asked by the dark-haired man. "I told you, I don't want anything to do with you anymore."

"I know that, but you didn't explain your _true_ reason for just getting up and walking away."

Ryūken took a seat on his chair and crossed his legs. "The only _true _reason I had is what I just told you. It is you who doesn't seem to get it through your thick head, Kurosaki."

"You're lying."

The doctor furrowed his eyebrows and was beginning to get annoyed with the other man. "And why would I lie about something like this?"

"Because you're scared."

That was it. Ryūken stood up and faced the man that was looking away from him. "Scared? Scared of what, Kurosaki?" a cold tone being used as he glared at the man who didn't even seem fazed by it.

"Because I lo-"

"That's a lie!"

Isshin took in what he just said and then sat up to stare at the other man who looked like he was ready to shoot him with a barrage of arrows. "And how would you know that?"

Ryūken kept his stance as he faced the other man. "Because no one loves me, not even my own son."

Isshin scowled at him. "That's because everyone you tried to get close to, you shut them out! If I say that I love you, then that's that! And if I say that I would go get you a full supplies of new ties then I would also do that!"

Ryūken walked over to the man and stared him down. "And if I say that I don't love you?"

Isshin glared right back with the same intensity. "Then I wouldn't believe you."

Both men were lightly breathing through their noses that, that was the only sound in the office that could be heard. But without a second thought, Ryūken latched his lips onto the other man who seemed more than happy to reciprocate. Isshin grabbed at his coat and brought him onto the bed. Ryūken followed and let himself be on top of the eager man. Who knew that their frustration could easily bring out such intensity on both their parts? But they enjoyed it more than when they had sex, because right now Isshin was pulling off his coat and biting at his lip. Ryūken pulled the wretched coat off and tossed it to the floor so that he could put the dark-haired man in his place by pushing him to the bed and begin biting at his neck. Isshin moved his neck to give him more room to work as he let himself indulge in the pleasures the doctor was giving him. But sadly, all good things must come to an end. And it all ended with a mere familiar voice.

"Ryūken?"

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><p>Ichigo and Uryū were walking down the road and when Uryū saw Ichigo's hand by his side, something in him wanted to reach out and take it. He shook his head. <em>What is wrong with me? Why in the world do I even want to hold his hand in public?<em> He then noticed a young blond girl looking at Ichigo from her phone and he scowled, feeling a possessive part in himself stir for no apparent reason.

"Hey, Ishida, what are you going to say to your dad?"

His scowl deepened. "First off, don't call him "dad" and I'll just say what I feel."

Ichigo smirked as he looked at Uryū. "So, a normal conversation then?"

Uryū pushed his glasses up as he closed his eyes. "For the most part, yes. But what about you? How do you feel about this?"

Ichigo looked back to the road with his usual scowl. "I-I really haven't given much thought to it. At first I would be confused at why he would want a relationship with someone other than mom, but seeing that it's with a man, and I'm-"

"I understand, you mean since you're trying to see from his perspective."

"Yeah, but I still don't understand."

Uryū just nodded and they both dropped the conversation as they saw that they were reaching the hospital. For some reason Uryū felt a bit uneasy as they reached got closer to the building, but at the same time he was a bit calm with Ichigo at his side.

Walking into the building, Ichigo saw that the receptionist were occupied and stopped walking. Uryū on the other hand gave him a look and wondered why Ichigo stopped. "Why did we stop?"

Ichigo pointed to the receptionist. "Aren't we supposed to announce we came here or something? Ishida-san could be doing something important."

"Well, then we'll go by his office and see if he's there," Uryū paused and could sense that Ryūken was in his office, "yeah, I just checked. He's in his office. So, let's get this over with." Uryū then began walking away with Ichigo in tow.

As they reached the office of Ryūken, Uryū paused before opening the door and decided to better knock. He knocked three times but the door didn't open. He thought this was weird since Ryūken either knows he's there and just tells him to go in but he didn't even respond. Uryū knocked a bit louder and still Ryūken didn't say anything. He looked over to Ichigo and then decided to just open the door and see why he wasn't responding to his presence outside. When Uryū opened the door, he and Ichigo both got the surprise of their life.

"Ryūken?"

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Sorry to cut it off on the good part, but I have to make some time for my other fics! SORRY!**

**But if you come by this fic don't just leave without leaving a review. Which means just click that button on the bottom before you exit this fic! I would like feedback very much.**

**Quick Note: Also, check out my new one-shot series if you enjoy Ichigo/Uryū!**


	22. The Rash and the Bold

**A/N: Thanks for the review guys! Also, I'm glad you enjoy it!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>The Rash and the Bold<p>

Rukia stood up from the couch and headed for the door. Byakuya was resting in the room and she thought that it was the best time to go see Orihime without worrying her nii-sama. She looked over her shoulder and saw that the door to Byakuya's room was still quite and she walked through the door, quietly shutting it.

She made it outside the building and began heading to where she could feel Orihime's reiatsu. Not once noticing that a man had been watching her since she exited the building. Mikio carefully took notice of her the moment she left the building unaccompanied by the other Shinigami she is always with. He began to closely follow her but made sure to stay a good distance from her. _Hm, it seems she's heading to where the girl is. I wonder what she wants with her._ When Rukia stopped and looked behind her, Mikio quickly disappeared and decided to watch her from the top of the buildings as she continued to walk.

When Rukia felt she was nearing Orihime she began to jog so she could reach the door faster. She knocked on the door and she heard soft mumbles coming from the other side. Soon the door was opened showing a drowsy Tatsuki who was rubbing her eyes as she tried to wake from the sleep she was in moments ago. "Ah, Kuchiki-san? What are you doing here so early?"

Rukia smiled at the drowsy Tatsuki. "I just came to check on Inoue. Is she still asleep?"

Tatsuki looked over to a door. "Let me check," she walked over to it and knocked. She waited a few moments but she didn't get any response from Orihime. Tatsuki then went back over to Rukia. "Sorry, but I guess she's still asleep. Come back later though, she'll probably be wide awake then."

Rukia smiled in understanding and nodded. "Sure. I'll see you guys later," she walked away and when she heard the door close she scanned the area but when she didn't see or sense anything suspicious, she headed back to where she was staying.

Kioshi materialized on a tree sitting down with his back leaned on the trunk. He had a book in his hand and looked over the edge to see the raven-haired girl. "Kuchiki Rukia? You might be a problem later on but for the mean time, I'll wait. Besides, all problems must be taken care of sooner or later," his eyes then went back to his book as they scanned the pages thoroughly.

Mikio appeared on the other side of the tree. "Can I at least play with her?"

"Not yet. We don't want to drive attention to us. Besides, you're job is to keep watch of the Quincy and the other Shinigami."

Mikio crossed his arms and leaned on the tree. "I did. Last time I saw them they were headed to a hospital."

"Oh, then keep watch of them. I'll handle the young girl and the raven-haired girl for now."

"What about the other Shinigami?"

"When the time comes, he shall also be taken care of."

Mikio nodded and disappeared from his spot on the tree.

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><p>Both Ichigo's and Uryū's eyes widen at the sight before them. They saw how Ryūken was kissing and biting away at Isshin that Uryū couldn't take any more of what he saw and felt a pang of anger go through him. And all he had to do to get their attention was to say that man's wretched name. "Ryūken."<p>

Ryūken instantly stopped what he was doing and saw that Isshin had his eyes slightly widen. He knew who that voice belonged to and there was no way he could dare deny a relationship with Isshin since he was caught in plain sight with the proof all over Isshin's neck. Ryūken got off of Isshin and reached for his coat and then looked over to the boys with slight frowns of either disgust, anger, or both. He pushed his glasses up and as he was about to open his mouth, Uryū beat him to it.

"What the hell are you doing? I thought you said not to get involve with Shinigami, and yet here you are doing something so-so _vulgar_ and in your own hospital! You're a damn hypocrite!" exclaimed Uryū as he tried to hold back the urge to punch the man who looked like he didn't get caught in the act of doing something with the man that was sitting on the bed.

Ryūken for the first time in his life felt loss for words but when he was ready to speak, Ichigo was the one who beat him to it as he looked over to his own father.

"Dad, what the hell are you thinking getting involved with someone like him? Is this some crude joke or are you seriously in some sort of relationship with him?" scowl on his face as he points a finger to Ryūken.

Isshin puts his hands up trying to calm down Ichigo if possible. "It's not what you think, I-"

"Not what I think! You had that damn bastard on top of you and you're telling me it's not what I think?" Ichigo's eyes narrowed at Isshin. "Did you forget about mom? Did you forget about how Yuzu and Karin would feel towards this? And all you can say it's not what I think?" Ichigo then turned his attention to Ryūken. "And what about you? What's your excuse for doing something like this with my old man? You were probably trying to take advantage of-"

"That's enough, Ichigo!"

Ichigo looked over to Isshin and returned the exact same scowl he was giving him. "Are you really defending that man? Don't you know he's been nothing but cruel towards his own son? How can you stand there and defend him? And why are-"

"Kurosaki, how close are you with Uryū?" interrupted Ryūken as he kept his eyes on Uryū this whole time and slightly watched as his eyes widen for a second.

Ichigo felt at lost for words. "Wh-what are you saying? He's my friend! What other type of relationship would I have with him?"

Ryūken pushed his glasses up and narrowed his eyes at Uryū. "Oh, then can you please explain how a _mark_ ended up on his neck."

Uryū eyes widen and so did Ichigo's as he looked over to Uryū, who did in fact, have a mark that was barely visible but if someone put much attention to it then it could be seen. Ichigo then brought his attention to Ryūken. "Don't try to change the subject! Ury-"

Ichigo caught himself too late as he saw Ryūken's eyes move over to him and gave him an icy glare. "So, I guess it's true what they say, like father like son. Or do you prefer the one where the apple doesn't fall far from the tree-uhg!" Ryūken was sent back as his left cheek was red from the impact of Uryū's fist.

Uryū was looking at Ryūken with wild eyes as he panted. "Do-don't you _ever_ compare me to you! We are nothing alike!"

Ichigo looked over to Uryū with wide eyes and saw that he was about to move forward and try to punch him again, but he quickly reached for his arms and tried to hold him back as he struggled to break free. "Do you want to know what the biggest difference is between me and you?" exclaimed Uryū as he struggled to break from Ichigo's hold. "The difference isn't experience or power! It's being a human being and a good father! Something you never were capable of doing because all you tried to do was put me down and place me in a tough situation where I had to choose between my Quincy power and my friendship with Kurosaki! You never once thought how I felt all these years as I lived alone because all you thought about was yourself! Making you a horrible father, and if I ever was a father I would be a hundred times better than you because I would actually love my child and watch over him! Unlike you who just pops up when it's convenient for you to do so! I never want to see you ever again!" ended Uryū as he broke from Ichigo's hold and began to sprint out the door.

"Ishida!" Ichigo went after Uryū as he quickly forgot about the two men who looked defeated and in pain from hearing those words come out of their own sons. Isshin looked over to Ryūken but he just shook his head and sat down on his chair, his hand never leaving the wound that his son had actually inflicted on him.

Uryū was already outside of the hospital and was panting as he still kept going, ignoring the people around him and the voice that was calling out to him. He then noticed that his vision was beginning to blur but he knew why when he felt a liquid go down his cheek. He then was pulled back and was being dragged away by a strong force that he didn't even see who it was because at this point he didn't care. He closed his eyes and let himself be dragged away. Uryū then fell to his knees on the cold ground that he could recognize as the place near the water fall where he usually goes. He then felt someone grab at his shoulders and pulled him into a tight embrace. "I-I'm not like him," he mumbled as he was held.

Ichigo just kept on hugging the poor Quincy as he let him release all that pent up frustration in the form of his tears. His hands where motionless as they hanged by his body, and all Ichigo could do was hold him and reassure him. "I know. God, I know, Uryū."

Uryū looked up and brought his gaze towards Ichigo's. Uryū's eyes were puffy and his glasses were askew as he looked into chocolate depths that he never got tired of looking at. "We're not like them," Ichigo nodded. "You love me," again Ichigo nodded. "I love you," and as to prove his point, Uryū captured Ichigo's lips with his own. He then pulled back and looked at him, once again becoming lost in those innocent eyes that only looked at him. He dived back in and latched his lips on Ichigo's as he made sure to make the kiss last. Moving his lips in different angles and tilting his head to keep switching position on their kisses. Bumping noses here and there but that didn't stop Uryū as he held Ichigo closer to him. He moved his hands inside the Shinigami's shirt as he pinched and caressed at the skin. Ichigo moaned and separated for a second as he pulled the shirt over his head from the back with one hand. He carelessly dropped the shirt as he slowly pushed Uryū to lie on his back as he straddled him, not once breaking the kiss they were in.

Ichigo ran his hand under Uryū's shirt and pushed it up to feel his skin as he slowly ran circles on his hip bones. But then he felt that Uryū was not responding to his kisses and that his grip on him let out. Ichigo pulled back and saw that Uryū was unconscious as he lay on the floor. "Ishida! Hey, what's wrong?" Ichigo grabbed his shirt and quickly placed it on. He then scoped up Uryū and began to head to Urahara to try and see what was wrong with him.

Mikio watched on as the Shinigami carried the Quincy in his arms as he crouched on a tree branch. "How strange, a moment ago I could feel three reiatsu," Mikio wrinkled his nose, "how repulsive."

* * *

><p>Urahara was sitting down, yawning until he heard a familiar voice shouting in the distance. He then saw Ichigo who was carrying an unconscious Uryū. "What happened?"<p>

Ichigo walked over to him and held Uryū tightly in his arms. "I don't know. One moment he's okay and in the next he fainted. I brought him here to see if you could figure out what's wrong with him."

Urahara stood up and slid a door open that had a small mattress on the floor. Ichigo followed him and placed Uryū on the bed. "Has this happen before?" said Urahara as he kneeled down to have a closer look at him.

Ichigo shook his head. "No. This is the first time it's ever happen," Ichigo watched as Urahara examined Uryū and then he looked up to him.

"Wait outside. I'll tell you to come in once I'm done looking at him."

The orange head boy clenched his fist and teeth at the thought of leaving Uryū, but he still stood up and walked towards the door. "You better tell me everything when you're done," he then slid the door shut as he waited for news on the Quincy.

* * *

><p>Urahara knelled next to Uryū and began checking for any signs of abnormalities in his reiatsu. <em>Well, he seems all right… but he does seem to have a weak reiatsu. No, more like his reiatsu is… separating! But how?<em> Urahara placed his palm on top of Uryū's forehead, he didn't feel nothing strange but when he moved it to his abdomen he could feel a strange spark from inside. He slightly lifted Uryū's shirt to just show his abdomen and then he pressed his palm down on it.

"Mmmm," Uryū moaned in pain as his eyes tightly clenched from the discomfort.

Urahara stopped pressing his palm on his abdomen and then lightly placed it on top of it. He began searching what he felt a few moments ago until he suddenly couldn't find the strange bend from his reiatsu anymore. "Now that's odd. First his reiatsu separates for a brief moment and then it just… goes back to normal." _Even so, it's best if I take precaution and ask Kurosaki a few questions._

Urahara placed Uryū's shirt back down and stood up to walk over to the door and slid it open. "Kurosaki-"

Ichigo quickly looked over to Urahara and walked over to him. "Did you figure out what's wrong with him?" alarm showed in his eyes as he looked into Urahara's wide eyes. Ichigo had been thinking the worst of what could be happening to Uryū so he hoped that Urahara would set him straight.

Urahara looked at Ichigo with an uncertain look. "It's a bit complicated but I need to ask you some questions. It might help in figuring out what is wrong with him."

Ichigo nodded and followed Urahara into the room after he slid the door shut. Urahara took a seat next to Uryū while Ichigo sat across from him looking down at Uryū for a second and then bringing his gaze back to Urahara. "So, what do you want to ask me?"

Urahara looked seriously at Ichigo through his hat and asked, "Kurosaki, have you ever been intimate with Ishida-kun?"

Ichigo blushed and felt his mind go into flashbacks about the first and second time he had been intimate with him. He didn't think it was wrong for them to be intimate since they were both guys but looking at the seriousness Urahara emitted from his gaze made him think twice about his relationship with Uryū. "W-well, we have been intimate but we're both guys, so-"

"You're forgetting that not only are you both guys _but_ you are also a Shinigami and a Quincy. A Quincy who has been intimate with a you, which by the way, has no sense of control of your reiatsu that should have killed him since such an act consist of pure release but somehow," Urahara looked down to Uryū, "instead of destroying his body he somehow must have been able to absorb your reiatsu into him. Like that time when it went crazy after you fought that Menos Grande."

Ichigo looked down at Uryū and then reached out to grab his hand for it only to become shocked. "What the hell?"

Urahara was surprised that Uryū's body seemed to be rejecting Ichigo but then another suspicion came over him. "Kurosaki, can you place your hand on top of his abdomen."

Ichigo looked over to Urahara with a bewildered look but he still reached his hand out and carefully placed it on top of Uryū. He let his hand rest there until he felt a strange feeling come over him. His eyes slightly widen as he took in the feeling into his being, the feeling felt warm and gentle, almost like a soft caress going through his body. Ichigo closed his eyes and became consumed by the feeling. He then opened them up again and noticed that Uryū's abdomen was glowing. "What's happening?"

Urahara reached a hand out to touch him but when he made contact with Uryū's skin; he quickly pulled it away as it felt like it was on fire. "Kurosaki, pull your hand away!"

Ichigo retracted his hand back and Uryū was back to normal as the glow was gone. "What happened?" Ichigo looked over to Urahara who seemed to have some sort of an idea. "Urahara! What was that?"

The man stood up and placed his hand on top of his hat as he let it cover up his face. "It seems that Ishida-kun has somehow absorbed your reiatsu-"

"Yeah, I can see that but-"

"And he has been storing it in his body for quite some time without him knowing it."

Ichigo clenched his fists and stood up, glaring at Urahara for keeping him in suspense for so long. "Damn it! Tell me what's wrong with him! You know something so just spill it out!" Ichigo was quickly losing his composure the more he looked at Urahara. He knows that the man likes to keep things in the hush-hush, but now was not the time to be hiding secrets, especially if it was about Uryū.

Urahara kept quiet for a while as he looked it over in his mind, how could it be possible that he could come to such an impossible conclusion. He then felt himself become pulled by the cloth of his clothes and could see Ichigo's scowl and icy glare more closely now as he held his cloth tightly in his clenched hand. Urahara then lifted his gaze and looked into Ichigo's eyes. "Kurosaki," Ichigo didn't move his gaze from his and just kept staring back, "I believe that Ishida-kun is… pregnant."

Ichigo eyes slowly began to lose its intensity as they slowly began to loosen into a look of pure distraught and shock. His hold on Urahara also loosened and then he finally let all the words sink into him that he did the only thing he could do. Ichigo bolted out the door and left behind the Quincy as well as the shop keeper. He didn't know where he was heading, all he knew that he couldn't believe what he just heard from Urahara. No, more like he refused to believe what Urahara was saying. It was impossible for a man to have a child, especially to have _his_ child. It just didn't make sense.

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><p>Rukia came back into her room and saw Byakuya sitting on the couch almost like he was waiting for her to return. She walked over to the room but was stopped when Byakuya spoke up to her.<p>

"You went to see the girl?"

Rukia turned around to face where Byakuya was seated. "Yes, but I didn't get a chance to see her. I'll probably head over there later, though. But…" Rukia looked down, not entirely sure of what to say next.

Byakuya brought his gaze over to hers. "Rukia, you are hesitating."

Rukia looked up and met Byakuya's gaze. "Ah, well, to tell you the truth nii-sama, I've had this strange feeling while I was walking to see Inoue. Like someone was following me but when I turned around no one was there and I also couldn't feel any sort of reiatsu. I might be over thinking this a bit too much."

Byakuya took in the information Rukia told him and began to get some suspicions. "Rukia, do you believe that Kurosaki and the young Quincy could have some sort of a relationship."

Rukia looked slightly confused but gave a small nod that she was uncertain about. "Well, I guess you could say that. I mean they do tend to argue a lot but they seem to understand each other, if that's what you mean?"

Byakuya shook his head. "I mean in a more intimate relationship."

At this Rukia cheeks turned slightly pink. "Um, don't you think you should ask that to them and not me, nii-sama?"

"Yes, but the outcome of me actually getting an answer from them is more non-existent than possible. I also thought that those types of relationships were not acceptable?"

Rukia walked over to the couch and took a seat as she wrapped her hands on her legs to bring them up to her chest. "I guess you could say that but it is a different time now, nii-sama. I really don't think that stuff like that matters anymore. But I guess that some still find themselves a bit disgusted since relationships should only be about woman and men and not the same gender. But why are you curious, nii-sama?"

Byakuya looked at her and then looked forward. "Not curiosity, more like a suspicion. If both Kurosaki and Ishida have some sort of relationship shouldn't they be able to admit to such a thing?"

Sometimes Byakuya could be really naïve but that one of the things that makes up her nii-sama. "That could be true but if you look from their perspective, I'm guessing that both are still a little worried on how their friends will react, like…"Rukia began to wonder on how Inoue would react to such a thing, she knew that she had some feelings towards Ichigo but-

"Rukia, what's wrong?"

Rukia looked over to Byakuya and shook her head. "Nothing, forgive me, but I have to go somewhere," she stood and quickly headed for the door.

Byakuya watched as Rukia exited the room and felt a slight discomfort inside him.

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><p>Takeshi smirked at the sight before him. "Well, here we are. And it only took us… aww who cares how long it took us! Let's just get this over with!" the anticipation was quickly coming over him the more he stared at the Seireitei.<p>

Masaru came from behind him and narrowed his eyes at Takeshi. "Don't do anything stupid, Takeshi. We are only here to scout out information on the Shinigami since our resources are unknown to them. Try to remain calm and collected."

Takeshi barred his teeth at Masaru as he looked at him from the corner of his eye. "Tch, I know that, but don't you think it'll be fun to… mess around with them," he smirked, "I mean scouting out the Shinigami also means that we have to see their abilities at work don't we?" Takeshi then looked surprise as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Norio kept his half-lidded gaze on the Seireitei as he had a hand on Takeshi's shoulder. "If we finish up quickly then we can return back and move to the next phase of our plan. I sense that one Taichou and fuku-taichou is missing, meaning that they should be in the Material World. Let us not get carried away and preserve our presence to ourselves. Now, let's move."

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for such a late update but exams were really tiring and mind exhausting, but I hope to return back to a normal updating but for now I can still feel the aftermath of those exams… sigh.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter! And please keep in mind that I also have school and other responsibilities I must handle. Remember to check out my other stories! I'm hoping to update them soon as well!**

**Please review and tell me what you think of this chapter so far! **


	23. The Decisions We Make

**A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews! Please enjoy this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>The Decisions We Make<p>

Mikio was right behind the young Shinigami as she was running back to where the redheaded girl was located at. He also noticed that she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings as it was easy to get the drop on her and finish her. He reached a hand into his coat but stopped the moment the raven-haired girl paused in the middle of her pace.

Rukia came to a halt and could feel a slight reiatsu coming from the cemetery and wondered who it could be. She then looked up and noticed that a dark cloud was looming over the sky as it felt ready to pour down some rain from its clutches. Rukia quickly brought her attention back to the slight spark of reiatsu and felt as it erupted into a heavier sense, as she could tell who the reiatsu was coming from. _Ichigo!_

She then looked at the path before her and then turned her attention back to where Ichigo was emitting his reiatsu as it leaked with pure raw strength. Rukia then decide to head where Ichigo was at as she picked up her pace to make it to him. _Forgive me, Inoue, but my attention is needed elsewhere. Please be okay, Ichigo._

Mikio was slightly surprised that the young Shinigami turned directions and was heading to where that other Shinigami was. _I'm seriously getting tired of all this. My job is to keep watch of the Quincy and the Shinigami, I guess then I have report what I found out to Kioshi._ Mikio then felt a droplet of water hit his face as it rained down from the heavens, he then looked up. "What wonderful weather. I wonder which poor soul is suffering at the moment," he swiped at the droplet that was coming down his face with his tongue, smirked and then disappeared.

Rukia kept on running as she could feel the droplets through her hair and felt herself slightly remember all the bad memories that the rain has caused her through-out her life, but she shook those thoughts away and kept on running towards where Ichigo was at. _I hope nothing bad happened to him. Please be okay, Ichigo._

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><p>Ichigo didn't know how he ended up in the cemetery but he didn't care. Soon, his lifeless body was walking towards a very familiar gravestone that he has kept in his heart. He dropped to his knees the moment he made it in front of the gravestone and slightly looked up only to look back down. He could feel the shame going through his body as he left everything behind but he didn't know what else to do. Ichigo felt self-hatred as he pounded the ground with his fists. Suddenly, he felt a wet droplet make contact with his head and then another, and another until he could no longer keep count of all the droplets falling upon him as they now drenched his whole body.<p>

He was so ashamed at what he did that looking up at him mother's gravestone only brought him more shame. How could he even look his mother in the eyes after the stunt he pulled? She would probably be ashamed of him as well and he let his tears begin to mix with the cold water that was landing on him with no regret as it covered his body. Ichigo then thought he heard a familiar voice in the distance but thought it was merely his imagination playing a trick on him.

"Ichigo!"

He then recognized the voice to belong to Rukia as he could hear puddles splash as she went through them so that she could reach him. Ichigo didn't look up as he could hear her reaching him.

"Ichigo!" Rukia ran all the way to Ichigo and kneeled down as she held his back with one hand. Worry went through her the longer Ichigo didn't respond to her. "Ichigo, what happened? Why are you out here?"

Ichigo knew that he had to tell someone what he was going through or else the shame would continue to eat at him. He didn't bring his head up but he did begin to speak. "I-I did something horrible."

Rukia brought her hands to hold Ichigo's shoulders as she tried to look at Ichigo but the boy kept his head down that it was hard to make any sort of eye contact with him. "What? What did you do? Please tell me, Ichigo."

He slightly clenched his fists and then released them as they lay lifeless on his side. "I-I Ishida…" Ichigo couldn't bring himself to continue as he still felt a bit confused about the whole situation.

Rukia's eyes widen at hearing the name of the Quincy. "Did something bad happen to Ishida? Is he okay?"

Ichigo didn't know how to say it but somehow he was able to say what he wanted to. "I-I got Ishida pregnant," whispering the word pregnant but he knew that Rukia heard him as he felt a sting on his cheek. He thought it was because she was disgusted with him but then when he looked up to see her face, he didn't see the disgust, he saw her with a frown on her face, almost looking at him disapprovingly.

Rukia had a scowl on her face the moment she heard Ichigo say _pregnant_. "Ichigo, why would you do such a thing?"

He thought she meant how he could hurt Uryū so bad but the look she was emitting through her eyes convinced him otherwise. "I-I didn't know what to do," he closed his eyes and expected for Rukia to land another strike on his cheek but was surprised when she never made contact. He instead felt Rukia pulled him closer as she grabbed at his collar with her hand to make sure he was looking at her. He opened his eyes and could see sadness inside Rukia's eyes and not what he thought was hatred or any other terrible thing.

"Ichigo, do you really think I care who you like or what your preferences are?" her eyes softened as she stared back at him. "I'm your friend Ichigo, and I will stand by you whenever you need me, but _this_," saying the word with pure venom, "how could _you_ abandon Ishida when he needs someone to support him? Why did you abandon him, a friend, a partner, a loved one?"

Ichigo closed his eyes and could picture the look of pure hatred from the Quincy, like the first time they met and he knew he couldn't handle such a look, not know. He didn't want to stand by and hear those words of pure hatred come out of the mouth of his Quincy. "I-I didn't want to lose him?" his voice sounds defeated the more he kept on talking, and just wished that the crashing of the water could wash away his shame and utter failure to the one he loves.

Rukia narrowed her eyes at Ichigo when he said "didn't" and wanted to smack him again but then tried to see it from his perspective and tried to make sense to what Ichigo was going through now. But she also had to make sure that he knew that it was never all right to abandon someone in need, especially if that someone is caring your future child, no matter the circumstance. "Ichigo, I know that you must feel astonished as to what is happening but can you really just abandon Ishida and your future child like nothing. Do you want that poor infant to suffer for a decision you made and have him wonder why he never had any loving parents," she couldn't hold back a snob as she pictured the poor child going through the same life she did, "does your child not matter to you and was Ishida just some way to have a good time? And I swear if I hear you say anything idiotic come out of your mouth I'll make sure you never be useful for Ishida."

Ichigo took a moment to let those words sink in especially when Rukia kept saying _child_. He pictured his own flesh and blood wonder why he never had the loving parents he deserved to have for something as stupid as his own insecurities of how Uryū would react. And how could _his_ child not matter to him? Of course it mattered. It mattered because it was something made from the love of him and Uryū. Why was he even second guessing his feelings for the Quincy? He knew what he felt for him and he didn't want to lose him. Not now, not ever. _What the hell am I doing? Why am I hurting Ishida and our future child like this? I'm such an idiot! I need to be with him-I have to be with him! He's caring my child and I need to be there with him through whatever may come our way._

Ichigo opened his eyes and saw that Rukia had also been tearing up from the thought of him ever abandoning someone as innocent as his child. "I'm such an idiot."

Rukia let a small smile break out into her face as she let Ichigo stand back up. "That's the smartest thing you could have said."

Ichigo looked over to his mother grave and let a small smile come over his face as he pictured his mother smiling at him for realizing his mistake. "Mom, I'm going to be a dad, and you're going to be a grandmother," his smile widen when he said those words. He looks over to Rukia and sees that she also has a smile on her face as she looks at his mother's grave. "Let's head back to Urahara and get the hell out of this rain."

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><p>Urahara looks out into the rain and then looks over to where Uryū was resting. <em>If Kurosaki doesn't come to his senses then Ishida-kun will be all alone when he realizes the truth.<em> He stood up and went to check on Uryū. From what he can tell, the Quincy will be resting quite a bit since something must have set him off to have used so much of his energy.

He sat down and wondered how a Quincy could be able to carry a child if he didn't even have the right organs inside him to even carry let alone deliver a child. There was the fact that the baby could be surgically removed from him but that would cause such a mess and pain to the Quincy. Urahara crossed his arms and began to ponder on a way to be able to assist Uryū in such a task. He never actually thought that such an impossible task could be done but he should know that if it involves Ichigo, then nothing is impossible.

Urahara then began to let his mind wonder around as he was coming up with a way to help Uryū and the unborn child that rested inside his body. But before he could let himself ponder more on the thought, he sensed Ichigo and Rukia coming near to his shop. Urahara let a small smile appear on his face at how long it took for Ichigo to come to his senses. "Well, it seems Ishida-kun won't be a single mother after all."

He stood up and walked out into the open to see the silhouettes of both Ichigo and Rukia coming near him. Both were running in the harsh rain and he moved out of the way the moment they came inside his shop. "Aren't you two a bit too old to be playing in the rain," amusement in his tone.

Ichigo glared at him. "Shut up! At least bring us some towels or something to wash us up."

Urahara chuckled and went to retrieve some towels he had stored while Rukia began walking to where Uryū was resting. She seemed interested on how Uryū could be able to produce a child from inside him since he _was_ a guy. Ichigo saw that Rukia was walking over to Uryū and followed behind her.

Ichigo took a seat next to Uryū and let a smile show the moment he looked at him. "Pretty weird, huh?"

Rukia nodded her head. "I don't think weird even covers it," she looked at Uryū and then back up at Ichigo who had his gaze down at the young Quincy. "You really like him, don't you?"

Ichigo didn't even look up and just kept his gaze on his Quincy. "Yeah, but I still worry how he'll take the news of caring a child inside him," Ichigo's smile turned into one of sadness at the thought of Uryū rejecting him or neglecting him.

"Don't worry, if Ishida likes you back then you have nothing to worry about. Besides, doesn't he have some sort of chivalrous code? I don't think he'll be able to say no to a child, especially since it is his as well. Just tell him when you're ready to."

Urahara then came into the room and handed Ichigo and Rukia a towel to dry themselves off. "Kurosaki, Kuchiki-san does make a point. You'll have to be the one to tell him and I don't doubt that he'll react the same way you did when you found out."

Ichigo slightly scowled at how he acted but wondered if Uryū will react the same way he did or be calmer about it. "You're probably right. But, I'm not going to keep something like this from him and I plan on telling him the moment he wakes up. And if he tries to run," he smiled, "I'll just chase after him and carry him back here."

Rukia smiled and looked down at Uryū. "That's great and all but I'm still wondering how you were able to impregnate him," she looked over to Urahara, "isn't it impossible for a male to be able to have a child?"

Urahara looked at her and nodded. "It is, but as I explained to Kurosaki, I believe that Ishida-kun was able to absorb his reiatsu like the time with the Menos Grande. Kurosaki does have a talent to let his reiatsu leak."

Ichigo glared at Urahara but he then looked over to Rukia who was nodding in agreement. He groaned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Can you guys stop bringing up _how_ he got pregnant and try to have some idea how he'll be able to even have the baby-"

"Babies."

Ichigo nodded to what Urahara said and then did a retake as he looked over to him with wide eyes. "What do you mean "babies"? I thought it was one!"

Rukia also looked confused as she looked over to Urahara who let out an amused laugh. Urahara looked down at Uryū and pulled his shirt up to show his stomach. "Believe me, I also thought it was one but when I checked him once again I could see there was a separation of reiatsu inside his body shifting. When I saw this happen I could sense two reiatsu's inside him. Try to focus on his abdomen and you'll see."

Ichigo and Rukia both concentrated on Uryū's abdomen and after a couple of seconds both had wide eyes as they realized that Urahara was correct. Ichigo went to touch the Quincy's abdomen and felt warmth go through him. "Two, he's going to have twins," Ichigo was in awe as he softly rubbed his stomach and was already beginning to wonder what the genders would be, what they're names would be and who they will take up on whether it be him or Uryū. He then began to imagine having a small Uryū running around while he tried to catch him. The thought filled him with so much love until he remembered how they were going to be delivered in the first place. Ichigo looked over to Urahara in concern. "How are they going to be born from him? I mean isn't it going to be hard to deliver them in his state."

Urahara nodded but gave him a reassuring smile. "It is but maybe I can come up with something that can help not only Ishida-kun but also the babies inside him. I'm slightly interested on how the process is anyway."

Ichigo didn't like the idea of Urahara messing around with Uryū's insides but he knew that he was the only one who could help them in such a matter. "Fine, but you'll also have to ask Ishida for his consent."

Rukia smirked over to Ichigo and began teasing him. "I never thought I see that day when you and Ishida could co-exist," she shrugged her shoulders, "I guess it was all that sexual tension between you guys."

Ichigo growled at her direction as Urahara began making his way out of the room with his own smile of amusement. "And the hell is that suppose to mean?"

Again, Rukia shrugged but kept on teasing the flustered young man. "Oh nothing, I just thought that, that _rivalry_ thing was somehow some sort of excuse to be hanging with him the way you do. I never actually pegged you for the type who likes guys," teasing in her voice which she could see was turning Ichigo red like his name.

The flustered redhead scowled at Rukia as she continued with poking fun at him. "Listen you pint size midget, I'm not gay," stating his claim which only let Rukia raise an eyebrow in amusement and wonder.

She looked at him in disbelief but kept her tone light. "Oh, so all those times you spent looking at Renji and other Shinigami meant nothing," she placed a hand on her chest at the thought of poor Renji, "oh, what are the other Shinigami to do when they hear that your looks were not of lust but of curiosity. I'm also guessing that you think Ishida is the woman in the relationship."

At that Ichigo nodded as both continued to bicker, neither one of them notice the slight movement coming from the Quincy who seemed to be finally regaining his consciousness. "You're damn right! It's only natural that Ishida is the woman, I mean he cooks," Uryū's eyebrow slightly twitched, "he sews," another twitch, "he likes cuddling when we sleep," Uryū's eyebrow was literally twitching at a fast rate the more he heard Ichigo continue to talk. "Hell, he even likes to be on the bott-ugh!"

Uryū raised a leg and slammed it onto Ichigo's head. "The hell I do, Kurosaki! I can easily make you submit to me like I can easily take your measurements!" he didn't notice Rukia until he looked to his side, his look of anger turned into one of surprise. "Oh, hello, Kuchiki-san."

Rukia let a wry smile come to her face as she looked at the Quincy. "H-hello, Ishida. How are you feeling?"

Uryū looked confused at what she meant but before he could ask her, Ichigo interrupted him and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking over to Rukia with a serious face. "Could you leave us alone, Rukia?"

She nodded and stood up to head for the door, she shut it behind her making Ichigo and Uryū the only two in the room.

Ichigo looked over to Uryū and moved back to sit back down. "Ishida, I have something to tell you."

Uryū looked slightly worried at the seriousness Ichigo's voice took, but he nodded his understanding and waited for him to continue which seemed a bit hard on him since he kept looking down and then looked at his direction to look back down again. "Kurosaki, whatever you have to say just say it. I really don't like to be kept in wait."

The Shinigami nodded and took a breath in as to calm down his nerves. "I-Ishida, have you felt a bit strange lately?"

Uryū slightly frowned but nodded. "To tell you the truth, I've been feeling some strange reiatsu but I just placed it off as your own since you have no sense of control, but why the question?"

Ichigo swallowed the lump on his throat and decided to just tell him rather than dance around the subject. "Do you remember when we… made love? Did you ever feel a slight discomfort or something strange go through your body?" the Quincy raised an eyebrow.

"You mean other than your semen going through me, no, I believe I haven't. But why the question any way, does it have to do with me being here or something?"

_So he doesn't remember when he fainted?_ "Yeah, and that's because…" Ichigo slightly stopped to try to regain himself and just tell him. "That's because…"

Uryū scowled at the hesitation Ichigo was causing and it was also making him worry. "Because what? Just come out and say it!"

Ichigo got closer to Uryū and placed a hand on his abdomen as he slightly caressed it with so much tenderness. "Ishida, you're pregnant," Ichigo expected the Quincy to half scream and half reproach him about such claim. He never expected the Quincy to look down at his hand with wide eyes and become silent as he stared at his abdomen. Uryū hesitantly reached a hand out to touch his abdomen but then retracted it. Ichigo saw that he wanted to feel the proof so he grabbed his hand and brought it to his abdomen. Uryū shakily breathed out in surprise.

His hand seemed to feel something that was inside him as he searched and found two reiatsu's inside. Uryū was compelled to ask how it happened but knew that he got his answer from all those times he and Ichigo had indulged in the heights of pleasure. Now, he was confused as to how _he_ was able to even have such a thing inside him. "How?"

Looking up, Ichigo noticed that Uryū was confused and maybe a bit shocked at what was happening to him. "Urahara said that you were somehow able to absorb my reiatsu while we made love and it somehow became," he went back to caressing Uryū's abdomen, "this."

To say that he was shocked was an understatement because right now, Uryū felt so… so strange. It was like reiatsu inside him was just flickering on and off whenever it felt like it. He rubbed his abdomen and slightly pressed down on it and felt the pressure that the child was making. He looked back up to Ichigo. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Scratching the back of his head, Ichigo looked slightly away from the Quincy's gaze. "Well, there is one more thing," Uryū scowled as he prepared himself to hear it, "you don't have one baby inside you…" Ichigo slightly hesitated as he tried to get it out, "… you have two." He suddenly felt Uryū grab at his collar to bring him closer to him.

Uryū had a dark look as he scowled at Ichigo. "What do you mean two?"

Ichigo began to fear for his life as he could feel Uryū's reiatsu begin to flare. "Like as in twins," he then saw a flash of blue and watched as he summoned up his bow.

"Run."

And Ichigo did just that as he dodged arrows and ran around the room. Outside of the room were Rukia and Urahara who were having tea and sitting down as they heard Ichigo running around like crazy, dodging Uryū's arrows. They could hear loud bangs and screams but just ignored it as they just sipped their tea.

Rukia looked over to Urahara who had a slight smile on his face. "Are you really just going to let them ruin your room like that?" another crash could be heard.

Urahara took a sip of his tea before responding. "I think Ishida-kun will tire himself out sooner or later. Besides, I rather let them take out their problems here then have them destroying half of Karakura."

Rukia nodded and smiled when she heard Ichigo scream. "I guess you do have a point there. Ishida does need to make him at least suffer for what he did."

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><p>Mikio landed on top of a tree and noticed that Kioshi was holding onto his badge as he held it over his ear. He must have been talking with Kenshin about some matters that either concerned the girl, Quincy or the Shinigami. Whatever it was Kioshi looked displeased about something. He placed his badge back inside his coat and brought his book back up.<p>

"What was that about?"

Kioshi didn't respond for a few seconds. "I reported to Kenshin-sama about the new development with the Quincy and Shinigami. It seems that he is rather displeased and wants to put the young girl to work."

Mikio was slightly surprised that Kenshin would want to use the girl already but didn't say anything about it. "The fuku-"

"I know. She's really becoming a nuisance and I believe if she comes in contact with the redheaded girl she would be able to reason with her. That must not happen so that leaves me no choice," Kioshi closed his book and stood up, "I'm going to have to deal with her myself," he then disappeared leaving a trace of the wind picking up as the storm began to shake the branches of the tree.

Placing a hand on his hip, Mikio looked up and let out a heavy sigh. "I hate to be the one that has to face him," he then opened up his mouth and let the droplets of water enter, licking his lips, "mmm, tastes like tragedy."

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><p>After exhausting himself, Uryū laid back down on the bed with a panting Ichigo at his side. Ichigo looked down at Uryū and still couldn't believe that inside his body where two babies that was also his. He reached out his hand only for Uryū to slap it away. "What the hell was that for?"<p>

Uryū scowled and sat up, placing a hand on his abdomen. "Stop starring at my stomach. It makes me uncomfortable."

Scowling, Ichigo got closer to him and stared at his eyes. "Is this uncomfortable?" he then dived in for a kiss but retreated back when the door slid open reveling Urahara and Rukia.

Rukia walked in front of them and smiled at the two. "I have to be heading back, the rain let up a bit and I'm guessing that you guys will be doing the same, too."

At that moment Urahara cleared his throat and received everyone's attention. "Actually, I was hoping that Ishida-kun would stay a bit longer so that I could do more examination on him, if you don't mind."

Ichigo looked over to Uryū and both nodded. "Yeah, but I'm also staying."

Waving his fan in front of him Urahara laughed in amusement. "Of course, Kurosaki, and besides some of the things I want to try out involves poking around in his body anyway. I sort of figured you wouldn't want me to do such a thing to him!"

The Shinigami scowled at the man and decided that he was _never_ going to leave Uryū alone with him. "Whatever," he looked over to Rukia, "we'll see you later."

Rukia nodded and began heading out.

Uryū narrowed his eyes at Urahara. "Urahara-san, how do you suppose I'll be able to carry such infants inside my body if I don't have the required organs to be able to provide them with? I do have a male body which should not be able to correspond with a normal woman's body."

Urahara placed a hand on his chin in thought. "Yes, I know. But if I'm able to make some sort of womb that can keep the infants secured while inside your body without causing them any harm to them and neither you then that will be my first priority."

Ichigo nodded and reached a hand out to place it on top of Uryū's abdomen. "That'll be great."

Smiling, Urahara covered his face with his fan and hid his amusement. "Wonderful! Now, Ishida-kun, please proceed to undress-ugh!"

Urahara was not able to finish his sentence as Ichigo punched him in the face. "Tch, like hell! The only one who can see Ishida naked is me-ahh!"

He fell to his knees when Uryū kicked him on the shin making him tumble over. "I don't think I want neither of you near me!"

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><p>Rukia took a detour and went on to reach where Orihime was as she ran through the drizzle of rain that was still poring. She knew that she should have returned home but something was pulling her towards where Orihime was. She couldn't abandon a friend when she could feel something in her heart telling her to go to her.<p>

Rukia kept on running until she saw someone standing in her way. The man was wearing a black coat and seemed like he was waiting for her. Rukia stopped and frowned at the man before her. "Who are you?"

Kioshi looked at the young Shinigami and placed a finger on his lip. "My name should not interest you at the moment. But, you have become such an annoyance that I must now eliminate you," he pointed his finger out towards her, "Kuchiki Rukia, be prepared to perish."

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><p><strong>AN: Wow! This took longer to write! I want to thank you guys for reviewing and also wanted to reply back.**

**Review Response: **

**Yitani East: I'm glad you have been reading this since chapter 1! I was surprised at seeing new faces here! Thanks! I also see that you figured out my little plan! I hope you enjoy the more chapters to come and development!**

**Nano: I think I know what that means:)**

**cagallikushinarafika: I'm excited to know that you're excited! I wasn't very sure at the beginning but now I hope you enjoy double the surprise inside of Ishida! As for Ichigo, he was still confused about what was going on and as to why he ran out but now he's back to support his future partner! Hope this chapter is to your liking!**

**Gemini24: I'm glad I made you FALL IN LOVE with the pairing! It's truly surprising that my story helped you to love it! Awesome! And thank you for the compliment. As for your request about the Kuchiki's, I'm sorry about that one BUT I loved the idea of Urahara making an artificial womb for the babies! He will need someplace to store the two. Once again thank you for the review.**

**Vivora: I hope you liked the confrontation between them and thanks for the review!**

**reni hitomi: Thank you for loving the story and for your review! I'll make sure to clear up the Kuchiki development soon, maybe in the next chapter. Glad I can amuse you with the names and they'll soon begin to start make up their plans as for Inoue, she also has her own to make. Hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for your time to review!**

**Cammy: Thanks for reviewing and I'm glad you are enjoying it!**

**kaessaku: Yes they did! And don't worry about chrome, my sister also has it in her computer and it also tends to not work. But thanks for reviewing!**

**andrewtheawesome312: I'm glad you think the story is amazing! I enjoy it that new faces are reviewing so thank you for your review and hope you enjoy the chapters of this story!**

**Please leave a review! **


	24. Intentions in the Dark

**A/N: WOW! Almost 50 reviews! Thanks so much!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Intentions in the Dark<p>

Rukia narrowed her eyes at the man who seemed to have proclaimed victory over her. Then she quickly realized that she didn't have any gikongan with her and she was stuck being inside her gigai as she stared down the strange man. _Whether or not I have no advantage, I must not falter or he'll see right through me and notice that I have nothing to defend myself with._

"What's the matter, Shinigami? Are you contemplating how to defeat me even though you have no way to defend yourself? Or are you merely hesitating in hope that you can find a weak spot and try to defeat me?" his voice remained monotone as his half-lidded eyes stared at the hopeless looking Shinigami.

She clenched her fist as she scowled at the man. "What business do you have with me?" Rukia waited for the man to respond but he merely remained quiet as he bore his dark brown eyes at her. Rukia saw that she was not going to get any response, but before she could act, the man disappeared from her view.

"_Nachtduivel__."_

Rukia's eyes widen as she heard the soft whisper behind her ear, and slowly she began to feel herself fall to the drenched floor. _H-how?_ Everything around her turned completely black as she dropped to the floor. Her eyes remained open but they were lifeless as if her soul was sucked right out.

Kioshi watched on as the young Shinigami stayed put on the floor. He crouched down next to her, and swiped a wet, stray hair from her face. "If you are dreaming then I have no interest. But," his eyes narrowed down at her with a slight gleam to them, "if you are in great amount of torment from your demons, then I am certainly more interested," Kioshi grabbed her face with his hand and looked into her lifeless eyes, examining them. "So much regrets you hold. And those regrets shall eat up at your soul, for you have not yet forgotten past remembrance of those you have failed. It's so… _beautiful_," he breathed out, "yes, keep on sleeping, and give into your demons." _Her soul shall soon be nothing but a hollow shell. Girl, your Heaven is gone._

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><p>With a frown firm on place, Ichigo tapped his right leg back and forward as he was sitting on the floor next to an irritated Uryū who had a book in his hand. The Quincy looked over his book to see Ichigo in deep thought. Giving him a slight glare, he closed his book with force. "What the hell is your problem?"<p>

The Shinigami looked over to Uryū as he just came out of a trance. "Huh? What are you talking about?" confusion could be seen on his face as he stared back at a glaring Quincy who looked fed up with something.

"I'm talking about that damn tapping you're making. It's getting annoying and you've been doing it for the past ten minutes. So, what's your problem?"

Ichigo stared at Uryū for awhile until he stood up and headed for the door, sliding it open. "I'll be right back," he mumbled and slid the door shut as he left the Quincy with a bewildered look.

Walking around the shop, Ichigo looked for Urahara as he had something important to discuss with him, which concerned not only him but Uryū as well. Once he found Urahara around some equipment, he walked up to him.

Urahara looked up from his work and looked over to Ichigo who had a serious look on his face. "Is something the matter, Kurosaki?"

"Yeah, can I talk to you about something?"

Nodding, Urahara and Ichigo walked to a different room and took a seat on cushions. Urahara looked over to Ichigo and waited patiently for him to begin talking about what seemed to be bothering him.

Ichigo let out and exasperated sigh. "Urahara, I want you to be truthful with me and tell me how long you think Ishida will be pregnant."

The shopkeeper's eyes slightly widen for a moment until they turned serious as he looked over to Ichigo. "Well, I'm not fairly certain but I suspect it's like any other pregnancy, except that it's a male which happens to be Ishida-kun, but why the concern, Kurosaki?"

"That's exactly what I was worried about," Ichigo rubbed his temple and looked back at Urahara, "my concern is university. Ishida and I attend a medical university but since he is… expecting, I don't know how we'll be able to attend during this time. Not to mention that Ishida might go nuts if he has to stay put in a room for a long time," Ichigo closed his eyes as it was giving him a headache just thinking about all the problems this was causing. The last thing he needed was an angered Quincy with the rage of a thousand arrows at his disposal.

Urahara smiled and as he saw how frustrated Ichigo was getting over something so trivial. "Do not worry, Kurosaki. Although, I can't help you with Ishida-kun's new accommodations, I believe that your university problem can easily be resolved. Of course, I'm sure Ishida-kun would not approve but it's the best I could do, just let me worry about the artificial womb while you go and keep Ishida-kun company," he gave Ichigo an amused smile as he stood up, "you _do_ know all the symptoms about pregnancy, right?"

Ichigo was confused at what he was implying but nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Wonderful! Then I will go back to work on my project and will see you when I have finished it," Urahara walked out of the room as Ichigo was still looking a bit concerned.

_What did Urahara mean that I shouldn't be concerned about university? Well, at least that's one less problem out of my mind. Now I can concentrate on Ishida and his… symptoms? Pregnant is pregnant. _Ichigo stood up and began walking to Uryū's room. When he walked in he noticed that Uryū was resting as he had covered his body with the sheets and had placed his glasses to the side.

He let a small smile come onto his face as he slid the door behind him shut and sat next to the comfy Quincy who had a calm expression on his face as he slept away. Ichigo reached for his face as a small strand of hair fell out of place. He pushed it behind his ear and heard him give a soft sigh as he left his mouth slightly open. _Beautiful. Even now you have a sense of glow about yourself that I couldn't believe I had never seen before. Uryū, to my soul, I promise I will protect you and our children. You are my family._

Ichigo moved closer to Uryū and spooned him in his arms as he laid down to rest. A pleased smile crossed the Quincy's face as he got more comfortable in Ichigo's embrace.

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><p>"<strong>Where am I?" Rukia looked around noticing that she was wearing her old <strong>**shihakushō and was in a dark forest. She looked at her hands that had her sword up like she was going to defend herself over some danger that was coming. Rukia then saw a dark shadow looming over her until the shadow became stuck as it impaled itself to her upward zanpakutō.**

**Rukia then looked at the dark, spiky hair and instantly knew who this was. Her eyes widen at what was happening. **_**What is going on? Kaien-dono…**_** She tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she looked at the body hanging from her shoulder. "Kai… Kaien-dono?"**

**A soft voice responded back as best that it could. "Kuchiki… why?"**

"_**Why?" What is Kaien-dono talking about? **_**She looked at his face and noticed that he was looking at her upper arm which carried the Thirteenth Division fuku-taichou badge. **_**How-**_

"**Kuchiki, why did you kill me? Was it, so that you could take over my post?"**

**Rukia's eyes widen. "What! Of course not I-"**

**She then felt Kaien place a hand on her small back as he pulled her closer. "Kuchiki, the longer you wear that badge, the more shame you will bring to the Thirteenth Division until it crumbles, and it will all be your fault," Kaien let out a small chuckle. "Even your nii-sama would be ashamed of you… for being so envious of the people who stood in the way. Kuchiki, you killed my wife and then you killed me. I can never forgive you for such a crime; I hope the worst for you. No one will ever love you, Kuchiki, no one."**

**She closed her eyes and noticed that the rain was coming down. Rukia was confused whether it was the down pour or her tears as she clenched her eyes tightly shut and let the water flow down her face. **_**What is happening? It wasn't supposed to end like this! Kaien-dono! Please, I didn't-**__**I wouldn't do such a thing! I-I don't want to be alone…**_

**Rukia opened her eyes and the body of her former fuku-taichou disappeared as she dropped her zanpakutō and fell to her knees while the rain picked up its pace as it crashed down with such a force. She was soaked due to all the rain but all she could do was clench the grass in her hands as she fell forward with only her knees and hands supporting her body.**

"**I don't deserve to live… Kaien-dono…"**

"_**And so, the young raven-haired girl fell into insanity for as she blamed all the wrong to herself, to never forgive and never forget…"**_

Kioshi looked at his book and softly closed it as the rain once again began to pick up with the wind recklessly shaking the trees. He glanced at the young girl on the floor and began to walk away.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura…"

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><p>Takeshi jumped from one of the buildings of Soul Society to another, a noiseless landing as he kept his pace steady while at the same time analyzing his surroundings just like Norio said he and Masaru should do. He smirked when he was running by an innocent Shinigami bystander that was scouting by the ledge of a balcony.<p>

"_Dichtvriezen._"

The Shinigami looked down at his body and noticed that it was turning into ice. "Wha-"

Before he could act, his body completely froze up and the sound of ice cracking filled the night as it shattered into small particles of ice. Takeshi's smirk grew wider. _Shinigami are so… exciting! I guess splitting up was a great way to go, or else I wouldn't hear the end of it from Masaru._

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><p>In the inside of a dark room a voice can be heard as Kenshin sits at his chair with a book in hand, reading. "… Thou shall not commit <em>this<em>. The interpretation is obvious to those who listen to thy Lord, but Quincy has put that to shame."

"Especially now, correct, Kenshin-sama?"

Kenshin didn't bother to look up from his book that he was holding with one hand while the other supported his face. "Kenji, thank you for your one penny of participation, but somehow I find this to be quiet… atrocious. The fact that a man finds pleasure with another should be enough but when a Quincy and Shinigami are involved it practically tips the scale."

Kenji straightened his posture when he was in front of Kenshin. "I would ask what Kenshin-sama feels about the situation but that's not what I came here for. It's actually a whole different matter."

"Oh, you don't say. Then Kenji, what did you come here for?"

Taking a while to answer his question, Kenji took in a breath and spoke what has been bothering him since the departure of the group. "Kenshin-sama, are you sure we could trust Mikio? He isn't part of our lineage and-"

The book that Kenshin was holding was placed down on the armrest with such force that it echoed through-out the room. Kenshin looked down at Kenji who kept his expressionless face as to show he was not intimidated. A smile then crossed Kenshin's face. "Kenji, if I have said this for a thousand times then let me make this a thousand and _one_. Whether you like it or not, Mikio, even though he isn't of our lineage, has been very loyal and has never betrayed my trust. But if you are looking for a reason as to _why_ I still keep him here then I shall tell you. I adopted him into _my_ lineage and since that day he has been my loyal comrade. Now, is that all you wanted to hear or is there anything else, Kenji?" he looked at the man who gave a small bow with menacing eyes.

"No, forgive me for such an inconvenient-"

"If you wasted your time as well as mine then I wouldn't think of it as an inconvenient."

Kenji just walked away after he spoke and didn't once turn around or he would have seen the eyes of Kenshin narrowed at his direction with a look of distrust and a bit of understanding.

Sighing, Kenshin grabbed his book once again and began to look through it as he scanned for the page he was last on. "Ah, here we are. Now, thou…"

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><p>Fluttering his eyes open, Uryū heard soft snoring sounds coming from his bedmate who had tightly secured him in his arms. He shook his head but had a small smile as he did. Uryū then began to break free from Ichigo's hold only for him to hold him tighter. <em>Damn, Kurosaki. Even when he sleeps he's very difficult. <em>He tried again to break free and was able to pull the arm away from his midsection. Once he accomplished that he reached for his glasses that were on the side and placed them on.

Uryū began to walk towards the door until he felt something inside him begin to burn and he soon began to feel a bit dizzy as he tried to make out what was in front of him. He began to walk only to later fall when he reached the door. He looked up and saw through half-lidded eyes that Ichigo's body was beginning to stir as his hand searched for him but to his misfortune, he wasn't there anymore. When Ichigo sat up and looked over to his direction with drowsy eyes that soon turned worried, Uryū's eyes shut as he fell into darkness.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for the reviews! Sorry for such a late update but lately my mind was like a blur and I really didn't want to write anything when I was a bit out of it. I also… kinda neglected writing for a while for… video games seeing as I hadn't play any for quite a while but when my brother comes over I just forget about everything else. Thank god for (bossy) sisters, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as it had a bit more explanation to who the bad guys are… and if it didn't the biggest clue could be the language they spoke in during their scene.**

**Dichtvriezen- to ice.**

**Nachtduivel- incubus, nightmare.**

**Not your normal English language… which is another reason for a scene in this chapter.**

**Review Response:**

**CyborgMelody: Thank you for the compliment and I really like that you enjoy this story! That scene also made me laugh while I also was writing it (I was laughing at everything that day so…) Thank you for reviewing!**

**cagallikushinarafika: Don't worry, there will be more cute Ishida moments later on in the story! Thanks for the review!**

**Haddrell: Yes, I know that these characters are a bit mysterious as of right now, but I hope this chapter helps some, if not the next chapter will. I also like that you commented on how you feel about the babies that Ishida is carrying, I was bit skeptical whether I should have done that, but thanks! I'm also glad the story is getting interesting for you and I hope you stay interested for the more chapters to come! Thank you for your review!**

**Gemini24: Thank you for the compliment! Since I like to read fanfics that have them in character it would make sense that I try to keep them in that way but I do admit that sometimes I get a bit worried whether if I do have them in character, I mainly tend to follow the manga then the anime sometimes. Thank you for the compliment about my writing skills (although my sis would call it "a typical American knowledge") I'm glad I didn't make the idea that disturbing for you. For that scene, I really didn't know how people would react towards it but I'm glad you enjoyed it! Godmother? I really do like the idea since she would be a good choice for that so I'll keep that in mind! Also, on another note, I don't mind if you have many request on my other story, I actually find it to be very welcoming, and I will certainly take it into consideration. Right now I'm working on a chapter from a request of another but when I'm done with that one I will try my best to finish some of yours (I really do like the ideas.) Thank you for the review!**

**Vivora: I'm glad you are enjoying how this is progressing and that you also like the cemetery scene! Thanks for the review!**

**reni hitomi: Don't worry about the review, it happens… I should know.**

**Nano: I'm glad you think so! Thanks for the review!**

**Cammy: I'm glad you read the other chapters and that you enjoyed them!**

**shionch: Thank you for the compliment and I like that you are reading this even though it is difficult. I'm also glad you find this story fascinating! There will be many twist and turns through this story so I hope you enjoy! Yeah, I also felt the same way before but when I once caught my sis reading a Byakuya/Rukia fic I guess it got to me, too. To me it's an interesting pairing that will make sense later on. And Renji is not wiped off, he's still a few chapters to come so don't worry about that! Ryūken and Isshin are also another of my favorites as well, but they will be taking a setback for a while. The OC in the story are not Fullbringers but they do have power that will later be explained. Mikio and Kenshin will be somewhat established as to why they act the way they do in this chapter, hopefully. To tell you the truth, I read this review when I woke up and was still rubbing my eyes from the drowsy-ness and this not only made my day but it also made me chuckle and got me working as to finish this chapter, as well. I can see how Ishida being pregnant could cause a bit… (Can't find the word I'm looking for…) but I'm glad you seem interested! As for the age of those two I think I established in the first chapter that Ichigo was nineteen which would make Ishida nineteen as well. I also think that every character has their own past and won't simply forget them that easily, which is used in this chapter for Rukia. Thank you for the compliment, as well! Orihime… I like the girl and also don't think she would be homophobic but it just adds to the conflict later on, and since she's now in too deep with Kioshi, it's pass the point where she can't just say "No" to him seeing as how Kioshi handles himself with her. Yes, I know that but **_**these **_**new characters aren't from Japan (except one), even though they have names that are. The Christianity also plays a part in this since my characters derive from that and have strong believes of that, hence the book Kenshin is reading. And also, Mikio tends to manipulate the emotions of people to a point of hatred thanks to his ability making them act the way they do. And your wording does no sound wrong at all! I understand everything! Hope you enjoy this chapter and thanks for the review! **

**Thanks so much for the reviews and I'll soon update again!**

**Please leave a review! **


	25. My Pride

**A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter, the plot thickens!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>My Pride<p>

"… Ryu…"

_That voice, it sounds familiar._

"… Yu…"

_I want to open my eyes and see who is calling out to me._

"… Uryū!"

_Ku-Kurosaki!_

Uryū's eyes began to flutter open as he tried to make out what was in front of him. He quickly made out the man with the redhead to be Ichigo even though his vision was still blurry. Uryū looked over to the concerned man that was holding onto his hand in his grasp very tightly. He then noticed—by concentrating his sight—that Ichigo let a small smile come onto his face as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Ishida, you're okay. I was worried for a second there."

_Worried? _Uryū looked for his glasses but stopped when he felt his spectacles being placed on his face by Ichigo's hand. Once he regained his vision, he pushed up his glasses and then looked over to the Shinigami who was sitting crossed-legged, as he placed his hand over his temple and rubbed it bit. "What happened?"

Ichigo leaned back and rested his arms over his chest. "I don't know, when I woke up you were on the floor so I quickly brought you back to bed and checked your vitals. You seem fine; I'm just guessing that you must have been lightheaded or something. So, what were _you_ doing up, anyway?"

Scowling, Uryū sat up from his lying down position and looked over to Ichigo in the eyes. "I was heading to the bathroom you idiot. How was I supposed to know that I—" Uryū's eyes widen as he leaned forward and covered his mouth with his hand as he felt something inside him about to come out. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to hold back his stomach pain.

Ichigo saw this and had a clear idea of what was soon to come. He stood up and leaned back down to carry the hunched over Quincy who seemed to be fighting back whatever was trying to come out of his body and manifest itself into his lunch.

"Hold on," said Ichigo as he carried Uryū down a hall and into a bathroom. He should have known that sooner or later Uryū was bound to get nauseous but he was just lying to himself that it wasn't going to be a problem since he was a guy. _Damn! I'm such an idiot!_ Once they reached the bathroom, Ichigo placed the Quincy near the toilet and watched as he threw himself to reach it.

Then, unpleasant sounds began to echo into the bathroom as he closed the door behind him so that no one could wake up. Ichigo looked over to Uryū and saw that he was trying to hold back his bangs from getting in the way but it seemed difficult as he couldn't place all his attention on the bowl. He then walked over to hold Uryū's bangs from his face so that he could support himself on the toilet completely without worrying about his hair getting in the way. Uryū's grasp on the toilet tighten as he vomits anything that he had in his stomach. Finally calming his stomach back down, his grasp loosens and pants as he tries to regain his breathing.

Flushing the toilet, Ichigo pulls Uryū away from the bowl and kneels down on both his knees so that he could pull the Quincy onto his chest and let him rest as they reside on the floor, with Ichigo supporting his back as he holds him. "How do you feel?"

Uryū has his head low and sarcastically says, "Amazing, you should try it, Kurosaki." Ichigo lets a small sigh come out and they remained quiet for a moment until Uryū felt Ichigo rubbing his stomach as if that would solve the pain he just went through. Although he doesn't mind the kind gesture, it will take more than that the next time he feels nauseous. But he has to admit, its better having someone supporting you then having no one at all and for that, Uryū is very lucky to have Ichigo around with him.

"Ishida… I-"

"Save it, Kurosaki. I don't need your sympathy."

"… Right."

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><p>Kioshi quickly dodged the attack of a thousand petals heading towards him and manifested behind his attacker. His composure and posture remained calm and relaxed as the raven-haired man returned his petals back into a blade. <em>Well, I didn't expect an extra guest. And I here I thought I was being well discrete. <em>

Byakuya looked over his shoulder and showed the man his icy glare. He then moved his gaze towards Rukia who looked lifeless on the ground as the rain pounded on her back. Byakuya took his stance and carefully watched the strange man who seemed he could get away with hurting his _pride_.

Kioshi narrowed his eyes towards the Taichou. "Aren't you the least bit interested on who you are fighting, Kuchiki?"

Keeping his gaze on the man, he placed his zanpakutō in front of his face and said, "All I need to know is that you attacked Rukia, and that," he narrowed his eyes which showed a killer intent, "is not forgivable. Scatter, Senbonzakura."

The zanpakutō scattered into petals that moved to surround Kioshi as Byakuya swung the hilt of his zanpakutō at his direction. Kioshi dodged the petals once again and concentrated on where the petals would be coming from. After dodging the petals from time to time, he thought out a strategy in his head, and tried to place his plan into action but couldn't do so until he was at least five feet from the girl's lifeless body. But for the mean time, he needed a distraction and what better way than to go on the offensive and confuse the raven-haired man.

Kioshi moved to get close to Byakuya but when he was nearing him, Byakuya's petals would intercept any type of attack and go after him. He did this quite often until it was getting the Taichou's attention on why he would try to attack him when he was just going to have to dodge moments later. Kioshi let a small smile cross his face and as fast as it got there, it quickly disappeared. _I'm almost there, just a bit more. _Byakuya didn't take into consideration that Kioshi was slowly but surely moving a couple inches closer to the body in the floor. And that mistake would cost him dearly.

He rushed forward once again to Byakuya and before he could get anymore closer, the petals came back but he did a quick ninety degree angle towards his true destination when the petals came up to protect the raven-haired man. Byakuya looked over to where he was heading and scowled.

Kioshi stood in front of Rukia's body as it lay behind him. He walked a step forward and pointed out his finger towards Byakuya to make him believe he was finally going to actually cause some damage. _What he didn't know would hurt him all the more._ Kioshi did a quick overview of what was going to happen next as he readied his attack.

Byakuya narrowed his eyes and placed his hilt up to protect him from any type of attack, that is, until he saw Kioshi move his finger from his direction towards Rukia as he moved his arm behind him.

"_Denken verpletteren_."

Byakuya's eyes slightly widen and he shunpoed over to Rukia as his petals came back to make his zanpakutō as he moved in to slash at Kioshi but he quickly dodged the attack and manifested ten feet away from Byakuya. He kept his face expressionless as he gazed at the Taichou who was looking at Rukia over his shoulder from the corner of his eye with his body facing towards Kioshi. Byakuya then brought his icy gaze towards him as he gripped his zanpakutō. "What did you do?"

Kioshi took a moment to answer and saw a look of distress from the Taichou. "I saved her."

And before Byakuya could say anything else, he heard Rukia moan from behind him and he quickly moved his gaze towards her to see if she was okay. He then looked back to see that the strange, nameless man had disappeared from his spot. Byakuya sheathed his zanpakutō and kneeled in front of Rukia as he began to look for any sign of injury. He didn't notice anything out of the ordinary except for her being completely drenched as so was he, but the least he could do was offer up his haori to the young Shinigami for a cover from the rain.

Soon, Rukia's eyes began to open up as she looked up at the man above her who was supporting her head with his hand. Her eyes held a strange gleam to them as she looked at Byakuya almost as if she was looking at him for the first time; a complete stranger. Rukia blinked and made eye contact with Byakuya's deep grey eyes and out of nowhere said, "Who are you?"

Byakuya's eyes slowly began to widen and for the first time since he has been drenched in the rain, he actually was beginning to feel the cold pounding settling in. He then felt his heart heavy inside him as his breath felt like it was knocked right out of him. He tightly clenched Rukia's body in his hands and clenched his jaw inside his mouth.

Both stood in the rain and neither one of them could feel the cold water letting up any time soon.

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><p>Mikio had watched everything from the sideline and could only watch on as Kioshi completely hid the girls mind deep inside her. He closed his eyes for a moment and moved from his location to find that Kioshi was looking down at his palm, probably contemplating his next move from here.<p>

"She will no longer be a problem in our plans, a lost mind is like a lost soul, it never returns to its creator without guidance. Now, if you would excuse me." Kioshi began to walk away, leaving Mikio standing there with only his thoughts to dwell on.

Sighing, Mikio looked down at his own open palm. _I never asked for this power, but all I can do is embrace it and use it for Kenshin-sama's disposal. Centuries upon centuries had passed and yet we were the only ones to have been lucky enough to survive from pasts conflicts. But because we hold this great power, we tend to fail the importance of one's life. And they will all realize… once it's too late. Kenshin, my life has belonged to you the day you saved me and I can't thank you enough. _

Mikio began to walk through the storm as if it was a home to him, and it really was. The rain felt like a safe haven for him and he was the only one who could really appreciate it and welcome it with open arms. Back then he was half the man he would ever think he could be, but now, he was utterly and completely whole.

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><p>Ichigo's eyes slid shut but he fought back to keep them open. His eyes were once again trying to win the battle but he resisted as he kept watch of the finally asleep Quincy. It took some time to get him back to sleep but he finally succeeded when he gave him a back massage that helped him unwind. Now he stood watch of him to make sure he was getting his complete rest and not having any sort of nightmares that could make him feel stressed that could also cause the twins some harm.<p>

He shook his head to make sure he stood awake and crossed his arms over his chest. Ichigo then stood up and decided to get a something to drink; he carefully opened the door and almost screamed when Urahara was right in front of him. "What the hell!" he whispered in a quiet, harsh voice.

Urahara merely smiled and made a gesture for him to follow him. Ichigo did what he was told as he followed behind the shopkeeper to a room in which he was working with his latest project. Looking around, Ichigo knew that Urahara was really working due to all the junk on the floor and papers scattered everywhere. Urahara then led him to a table where a small round sphere was sitting at.

Ichigo looked down at the sphere in disbelief. "Is that the artificial womb you made? It looks so tiny."

Urahara chuckled. "Yes, well, I couldn't make something huge since this is something very delicate. But I do have to warn you," Ichigo placed his attention on the shopkeeper as his voice turned serious, "since this is fairly new, I don't know what the side effects would be but I'm certain that it should help carry and protect the infants inside Ishida-kun."

Looking back down at the sphere, Ichigo reached out to grasp it in his hand. He observed it from all angles to see if it was really as special as Urahara made it out to be. "So, Ishida is supposed to eat this?"

The chuckling caught Ichigo's attention as he scowled at Urahara. "Not at all, but actually, you first need to concentrate some of your reiatsu into that sphere to let it have definition and secure that the two reiatsu's in Ishida-kun could become compatible and shield the two infants inside it. Then, as time goes by, Ishida-kun will begin developing nicely through the months like any other pregnancy. But," Urahara stopped for dramatic affect and gave Ichigo a playful grin, "the sphere needs to be inserted where _you_ have inserted everything else."

It took Ichigo a moment to find out what Urahara was talking about until he turned bright red. "What! Y-you mean I have to-"

"Yup!"

Ichigo looked back down at the sphere and was ready to toss the damn thing towards the smirking man, but then he pictured his two children good and secured in this artificial womb that he held tightly in both his hands. "Fine." He didn't hesitate as he answered because now, he could do something to help Uryū and his unborn twins.

Urahara nodded in approval but added one more thing. "Oh, and you should probably do it as soon as possible, who knows what could happen if you waste anymore time, Kurosaki."

Ichigo nodded and headed out of the room, tightly holding the sphere in his hand. He reached the room in where Uryū was resting at and slid the door open. He was surprised to see that Uryū was wide awake when he opened the door. "Ishida, what are you doing awake?"

Uryū sat up and looked at Ichigo. "I could ask you the same thing." Uryū then saw that Ichigo was holding something in his hand. "What is that, Kurosaki?"

Kneeling down in front of Uryū, Ichigo took his palms in his and showed him the sphere. "Urahara finished the womb."

The Quincy's eyes widen as he looked at the small shape. "R-really? I thought he was at least going to take a week on it! And how does it work?"

Ichigo flushed red but kept his mind on the task at hand. "Urahara said I have to, um, place it _inside_ you," gesturing towards Uryū's behind with his finger.

Now it was the Quincy's turn to blush as he tried to hide it as he pushed his glasses up. "O-oh. Well then, we should probably get this over with." Uryū surprised Ichigo as he lied down with his body facing downwards, taking his glasses off and settling them on the side. "And no funny stuff, Kurosaki!" he warned as he shouted it over his shoulder.

Ichigo was confused at how Uryū was taking this but decided to ask him on another time. "All right, let me just go get some lube." Ichigo stood up and left the room to see if Urahara had some lube in his shop. He looked through all his stock until he found some oil and thought it was good enough. Hurrying back, he saw that Uryū hasn't moved from his position and got on his knees behind his ass. "You're taking this well. And here I thought I was going to have to hold you down."

"Shut up, Kurosaki! I'm only doing this for them."

And Ichigo didn't need to ask who "them" were because he, too, had them in his mind. "I'm going to start pulling your pants down." He warned the Quincy and only got a slight nod as a response. Looking back down at Uryū's rear, Ichigo pulled the sheets away and settled himself between Uryū as he pushed his legs apart.

He then began working on taking his pants and boxers down at the same time, but only half way, just enough to get to the desired location. He got the oil from his side and began to apply some to his hand and began to rub it on Uryū's opening. The Quincy clenched the sheets as if not to moan but he occasionally let some moans come out, especially when he felt Ichigo begin to stretch him out. Ichigo scissor his fingers to open him some more and to make sure that this wasn't in any way uncomfortable for him.

After a while of this, Ichigo pulled his hand away and reached for the sphere with his other hand. He licked his dry lips and began to concentrate his reiatsu on the ball. Ichigo could feel the ball absorb his reiatsu and when he gave enough, he released his hold on it and watched as the sphere glowed with a shine of blue around it. He looked back down at Uryū and softly rubbed his thigh in reassurance. "Just breathe." Ichigo then began to push the small sphere inside him and furrowed his brows as he felt that he was almost done with the task. Uryū occasionally squirmed as he held the sheets tightly but at the same time he was relived in knowing that he could finally help his babies form inside his body.

Just as Ichigo was through, Uryū arched his back and began to feel the effects of the sphere going through his body as he felt his insides tightened for a bit until they calmed back down to accommodate the new intruder inside his body. He fell back down on the mattress and slightly panted as beads of sweat where coming down his forehead. Uryū felt Ichigo pull his undergarments back up and leaned over him to kiss at the nape of his neck as his head was lying on one side. Ichigo then kissed his cheek and lied down beside him and held him close to his body.

"That's it. Were you uncomfortable?"

Uryū scoffed as he closed his eyes and tried to get his breath back together. "Define comfortable, Kurosaki. But I do feel very… relieved; like I just helped these infants begin their process to life."

Ichigo smiled and ran his hand through his dark locks. "Yeah, well, these two are going to be the very existence of our lives. I can't wait to be able to hold them and see how they look and-"

"I think you're forgetting whose going to have to be pushing these two little ones out of their body. I just hope they both don't come out as you, one of you is enough but _three_, I'll never have a moments peace."

"Tch, I hope they don't come out as you! The last thing I need is for them to start sewing like their mother."

Uryū scowled and pinched Ichigo's nose and didn't let go. "Listen here, Kurosaki, don't _ever _refer to me with any type of maternity names. Got it?"

Ichigo nodded and the Quincy released his hold on him. It amazes Ichigo how they could be expecting twins but they still fight like all those time before, and he had a lot of memories of those. But even so, he wouldn't give that up for anything in the world, those moments represented their life forming an alliance, a friendship, a romance, and now a family. Uryū looked at Ichigo and saw how close their faces were, and before either of them knew what was happening, they both leaned in and gave each other a small promise of commitment filled with the passion emitting in their hearts.

_Uryū, my pride lies with you and our children._

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><p><strong>AN:**

**Denken: Mind**

**Verpletteren: Crush**

**Finally finished this chapter! I've been so busy lately, now more since I'm back to doing my afternoon job. I was really amazed when I saw that I got ten or more reviews for the last chapter! Awesome! **

**Review Response:**

**Gemini24: Sorry for not updating this story in quite some time, I am fairly busy as I said, but will continue. As for Rukia never forgetting… well, apparently she is forgetting something… Kioshi isn't **_**that **_**scary… I think? My OCs? I really don't know how I make them good in writing. I just write down what I want them to show in their personality and tweak it a bit, play with it more likely. As for the hairstyle, it's the one from the time skip. And I haven't really thought of baby names yet, I'll probably look into that later on or you guys could give me some ideas. Oh and Hollow Ichigo is around but I don't expect him to make any appearance yet. But thanks for taking the time to review!**

**Nano: Ishida will definitely go through some phases emotionally, since he is pregnant but I've yet decided how I'm going to move with this… Thanks for the review!**

**Vivora: Byakuya is in action but sadly, things don't go how they usually go for him. Thanks for the review!**

**Reina De La Noche: Thanks for liking the story! I'm also glad you enjoyed the scene! Thank you for reviewing!**

**Cammy: Thank you for waiting and hope this chapter is suitable for you! **

**GothLoner: Thank you for your compliment on the story! It really brings my hopes up and makes my day when someone enjoys the story! Thank you for taking the time to review!**

**Haddrell: Being pregnant is difficult (I've seen it happen to someone close to me) and Uryū will get tired from time to time due to this which will also play another role in the story. I'm still not sure when Ichigo will confront his sisters about this but he will tell them and that'll be before the twins are even born, of that I'm certain. Ryūken… I can't wait to write out his expression! :) Thank you for reviewing!**

**shionch: Thank you for liking how I write out Ichigo's personality. I try to be a bit careful on how I keep that since I really don't want them to be really out of character. And Urahara finally finished the womb! Of course it's no walk in the park when they have to get it in Uryū but you'll have to read for yourself. As for Ryūken being pregnant like Uryū… I really don't think so since Isshin has a better control of his reiatsu than Ichigo which is why Uryū is pregnant in the first place. And there was a complete 160 turn on the Kuchiki's that you'll have to read. And there is reasons as to why these OC act the way they act, I already know where I'm going with them all have to do is try to get it written down. It's a bit hard not neglecting writing since I tend to get busy and also tend to take some breaks from time to time to gather my thoughts and relax, I really don't want to stress myself out so I could write more. But thank you for reviewing!**

**Please review and tell me what you think! **


	26. Everybody'd Fooled

**A/N: Well, things get interesting in this chapter. Kioshi keeps getting more out there and Rukia get's a bit flustered. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Everybody'd Fooled<p>

The wind blew without any remorse as it attacked anyone and anything in its way. The trees swayed as if they were going to depart from their mother root that stayed planted firmly on the ground. Water pounding, trees thrashing, but even as this all went on; none of this mattered to Kuchiki Byakuya as he stayed concentrated on the young girl in his arms who was covered up with his haori.

As the Taichou stayed kneeling on the ground, he contemplated what he should do and decided that he should head to Urahara's shop. At first he wanted to use his shunpo to make it quicker to the shop but seeing as the young girl in his arms had completely forgotten everything, he decided against that. Now Byakuya walked in a fast pace that was still a bit inhumanly but not too quick.

Rukia held tightly to Byakuya's haori as she closed her eyes from the water dropping from the sky. She didn't know who the man was but felt like she could trust him; it was better him than someone who would try to get touchy with her. Although she didn't _completely_ trust the man, for all she knew, he could be taking her to some secluded area or his home and try to have his way with her. This frightened Rukia and began to pull away from the man so he could let her down.

Byakuya wasn't paying much attention to anything except that he was feeling a bit light due to the realization that Rukia could not _remember_ him at all. That was the most piercing blow than all the strikes he had received from his life as a Taichou of the Gotei Thirteen. He was soon pulled out of his pondering moments to feel Rukia pushing him away, or at least struggling from his grasp to be let down.

"Please, let me down."

He remained quiet and decided to pick up his pace, trying to make less time on his travel so that he could see what he could do to try to help her. But apparently, the only thing she wanted right now was to be let go. Byakuya would not release his hold on her and tightened his hands to make her understand that she wasn't going anywhere._ Thant man, when I find that man I will personally make him regret what he did._

Seeing as Rukia wasn't getting what she wanted, she tried a new tactic. She leaned her head close to Byakuya's neck and bit him with all her might until she felt the man stop so he could check his wound.

Feeling an immense pain at his neck, Byakuya's eyes widen and stopped—which was a big mistake as Rukia pushed away from him and began to run. Byakuya grabbed at his wounded neck but quickly diverted his gaze towards the jogging Rukia and shunpoed to try to reach her. When he grabbed her hand, Rukia tried to pull away.

"Ah, let me go!" Rukia pulled but the strange man's hold only tightened which in return made her cringe at the pain. "Stop! You're hurting me!"

When Byakuya heard those words, his hold loosened, giving Rukia enough time to push his arm away and once again begin to run from him. _I am not her enemy but yet she does not know that. She doesn't know anything. Seeing her act like this makes me feel like I _am _the enemy. Hm, it can't be helped._

Turning around to see if the strange man was still following her, Rukia stopped when she couldn't see him anymore. _Maybe he gave up._ But before she knew it, she was falling into darkness as she dropped to the floor but did not make contact as she was at the last moment caught with long, slender hands.

"Forgive me, Rukia, but I do not have the time to explain anything to you." Byakuya brought Rukia up into his arms and began using shunpo to reach Urahara. _It would be best to just head there and see if anything could be done about this. _His eyes narrowed. _Whoever that man was, his plan was to take Rukia out. But why? Whatever his reasons are, I will not hesitate to cut him down the next time I see him._

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><p>Stretching his arms over his head, Urahara popped his neck as he stayed sitting down on the floor with a tired expression on his face. He soon perked up when he saw Tessai enter the room. "Oh, good morning, Tessai-san," he let out a soft chuckle, "or should I say, goodnight?"<p>

Tessai acknowledged Urahara and sat down across from him. "It would be more likely goodnight, Urahara-san. But on to other matters, I have secured the children to a more hidden location like you asked."

Urahara looked to the side with a sincere smile hidden by his hat, arms crossed over his chest. "Good, I figured that Kurosaki, and Ishida-kun would be coming by soon so I didn't want to take any risks with them. One bickering pair is enough as it is."

"Hm," Tessai looked out to the outside of the shop as it continued to rain. "Did you feel Kuchiki-Taichou reiatsu flare up? I wonder what he was doing; there wasn't another reiatsu with him when it happened."

The shopkeeper's expression was serious with many thoughts flowing through his head. "That is true, no matter how much I try to concentrate on someone that could be fighting with Kuchiki-Taichou, nothing comes up. It's almost as if he was fighting against wind, nothing there but you could still feel it as it uses its force upon you."

"Well, we could ask him when he gets here."

Smiling, Urahara looked over to Byakuya as he landed outside his shop. "Right on time."

Byakuya walked into the shop as he still carried a knocked out Rukia in his arms. He placed Rukia down and removed the haori from her wet form. "I see you could tell something was happening."

Giving him a single nod, Urahara stood up and walked over to Rukia. "I could sense something, but it was only _you _I could sense. The other force you must have been fighting must have hidden his reiatsu very well if he was able to pull one over us. If you were fighting this outer force then you must have sensed his reiatsu, correct?"

Closing his eyes, the Taichou tried to remember if he could sense the reiatsu, but the more he tried to grasp the feel of it, the more it slipped away. "Forgive me, but I could not pick up the source of his reiatsu."

"Huh?" Urahara was shocked that even as Byakuya fought an enemy who is able to suppress his reiatsu, the enemy is still able to keep it hidden when in the heat of battle. "Well, this is problematic. I never heard of someone being able to completely cover up his attacks during battle."

Byakuya gave Urahara a stern look. "No, from what I could tell, the man did not use any sort of attack nor did he wield a weapon. He was more into using his adequacy more than anything else. The way the man fought was almost as if he was toying with me. He seemed to have one goal and one goal only; whatever else he had left for me was just to be barely satisfactory since his attention was directed at someone else."

Urahara took his attention from Byakuya and looked down at the drenched Rukia. "Let me guess, his goal was to go after Kuchiki-san from the beginning. Now why would he be after someone who opposed no threat?"

Keeping his gaze on Rukia, Byakuya began to ponder on something. "The man also did something to her."

"Something to her, like what?"

Clenching his fist until they turned white, the Taichou narrowed his eyes. "Somehow, Rukia has forgotten everything."

Both Urahara and Tessai were shocked to hear this as it showed in their faces. Urahara looked over to Rukia and didn't notice anything different nor did he sense her reiatsu abnormal in anyway. _This is really strange._

Byakuya looked up and looked over to a room. "Is Kurosaki here? I can sense his reiatsu coming from that room."

Moving his gaze from Rukia, Urahara followed Byakuya's gaze. "Oh, yes, well he had a mild inconvenience and is staying here for a while. Is there a problem, Kuchiki-Taichou?"

"It's better if we keep this from Kurosaki, I wouldn't want to intervene in his personal life more than I have to. I am still not certain if these effects are permanent or not, it's better not to jump to conclusions, yet."

Urahara nodded. _Especially if Kurosaki has his own problems to worry about, this would only add more fuel to the fire. I should also remain quiet about Ishida-kun's condition, for now._ "Yes, I understand, Kuchiki-Taichou. It's better if you take Kuchiki-san home and see how she reacts when she wakes up. If things get worse I suggest you bring her back immediately."

Byakuya nodded and accepted a towel that Tessai brought him to cover up Rukia from the rain. "Thank you for your time." He then placed the towel around Rukia's small form and carried her in his arms. Heading out of the shop, Byakuya used shunpo and disappeared from sight.

Tessai looked over to Urahara who looked exhausted. "Why did you not mention Kurosaki's and Ishida's stay here?"

"Because it's not my place to tell," he moved his gaze towards the Shinigami and Quincy resting room. "Besides, those two are probably tuckered out; it's not every day you realize you're expecting twins in a young male body—and a Quincy to boot. They need to worry about themselves for the mean time, let them figure it out. If worse comes to worse then everything is just going to have to come into the light."

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><p>Uryū woke up with a start. He took in a sharp breathe and heard that thunder began making a racket outside. He calmed himself back down and brought his body closer to Ichigo's shirtless form. <em>Why in the world would Kurosaki even think that it was okay to sleep without a shirt, it's practically freezing!<em> He moved his hand onto Ichigo's chest and felt warmth emit from that single touch. _Wow, he is warm._

The Quincy rested his head on the chest and closed his eyes. He tried to concentrate on Ichigo instead of the pounding outside, and took notice of Ichigo's heartbeat and breath coming out of his body. Nuzzling closer, Uryū could perfectly hear every single beat of his heart and feel every single exhale after the inhale as it blew some of his dark locks. _So calm, I never thought I would see the day Kurosaki was at peace. Even his face lost that scowl making him look younger. I have a feeling that Kurosaki would be an amazing dad to the twins, because I would be the father and he the dad. Yeah, that works._ Opening his eyes, Uryū paid close attention to the redhead's lips.

_Even though I have kissed those sinful lips, I still yearn to have them once again. Maybe if I…_ Uryū leaned closer to the redhead's lips until he was only a breath away from taking them in his own pale ones. When his lips covered Ichigo's bottom lip he felt a jolt go through his body and that made him want more of the man lying beside him. Uryū pulled back by a centimeter and dived back in, more pressure this time around as he captured the sweet taste of Nirvana on his lips. _This feeling is inexplicable._

Ichigo didn't need to open his eyes to know that the person who woke him up—due to lip contact—was Uryū. He could feel and sense the Quincy all around him: taste, smell, touch, it was all there. And he loved every moment of it. Bringing a hand up to run through the dark locks of the Quincy, Ichigo began responding to the feverish kisses with his own fiery passion. It was a battle of lips and neither was unsatisfied with the end result, because in the end, they both win.

Slightly pulling away, Ichigo opened his eyes and watched as Uryū opened his pools of deep sapphire mixed with the hint of lust. The both of them then locked eyes and just watched as their chest heaved up and down, trying to reclaim their breathing. Ichigo leaned in and placed a soft kiss on the Quincy's forehead, lingering more than it had to. Uryū had closed his eyes and just sucked in the feeling of having Ichigo's lips upon his skin. It was all breathtaking, for the both of them.

Leaning back so that his back was on the mattress, Ichigo looked down at Uryū who was lying on his chest. "What was that about?" the question was floating in the open, waiting for the haughty insult to come moments after. But to Ichigo's surprise, it never came. "Hey are—"

"Shut up, Kurosaki." His voice cool and calm, as he hid his head in the crook of the Shinigami's neck. _These feelings are really nerve-raking. I think the damn hormones are starting to kick in. Or maybe… I just like being held like this, nothing to worry about and just basking in the hold that Kurosaki has placed on me. If there was a place that existed beyond Soul Society, this would be it._ "Kurosaki?"

"Hm," Ichigo's tired voice responded as he had his eyes closed with a relaxed look on his face.

"Wear a shirt next time."

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><p>Making himself comfortable on the high tree branch, Kioshi closed his eyes and tried to fall into a deep slumber until he heard a familiar voice in the distance.<p>

"K-Kioshi-san?" asked an unsure voice from an open window across from the tree.

Kioshi opened his eyes and looked to where the voice was coming from. He saw the young redhead girl looking through the partly opened window with a look that could be described as concern mixed with uncertainty. "Yes?"

"Y-you're getting wet."

"I can see that. And?"

Orihime looked as if she just asked a stupid question and was just bothering the man. "Aren't you uncomfortable in the rain?"

The man took in a moment to let it sink in before he replied. Closing his eyes, he let out a soft breathe. "No, my body is immune to any type of weather condition. I find this to be quiet soothing, actually." He then looked over to Orihime. "Go to sleep, you don't need to concern yourself with me."

"R-right," she closed the window and then let the curtains cover up the world beyond the trapped little room.

Kioshi tilted his head up and closed his eyes. _Fool, you should not concern yourself with others well-being. Especially me, I don't deserve to have any sort of sympathy from anyone. That is an insult to me, an insult that I highly never over look, but since I'm feeling a bit light, I'll let it pass… just this once._

"Kuchiki Byakuya, I wonder what you are going to do with an empty shell of a girl. You will soon realize that she will start seeking for her soul, which only I have. She will come looking for me and once she does, she will be nothing more than a marionette in the hands of her puppeteer." _Yes, she will be played as my marionette, and she will belong to me to control. And she will make everyone fooled._

He pulled out a mirror from his coat and watched as the reflection of himself turned into the reflection of one Kuchiki Rukia. A slight smile touched his lip as he looked down at his marionette. _Perfect, she will do nicely. I will wait patiently until I begin my complete control of her. _Kioshi pocketed his mirror in his coat and felt himself relax under the rain until his breath steadied and fell into darkness.

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><p><strong>AN: Alright! Chapter 26 completed! I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Review Response: **

**Gemini24: I kinda thought the womb part would be a bit weird but I really felt like it was something that could happen. I didn't want Urahara to just make some silly little pill; I wanted it to be a bit complex. I knew it was strange but I felt good about the chapter. Although my sister wouldn't stop giggling or blushing when she read that… And yes, Byakuya would probably go all out on Kioshi for what he did, and he should! I like where you hint at the names, I'm really considering that. As for Uryū helping Ichigo control his power, that would probably take time and Uryū would probably decline but they do need **_**something**_** to do when in the shop. And thank you so much for the compliment! I really don't see my writing being extraordinary or anything, I just like to write what helps the story flow. And I believe on Chapter 23 I wrote that Kenshin already knows about the twins, or I at least hinted on it. As for what they might do, well, Kioshi seems to have things already planning out. No female members… not for long!**

**Reina De La Noche: My sister feels the same way… but instead of her going after Kioshi, she went after me… **

**Substitute Quincy: Like I said, I didn't want the womb implant to be simple and went with a more out there theme. Even as I was looking it over I felt that it would be really weird for someone to read bit decided to take a chance on it. Thank you for reviewing, though!**

**GothLoner: Compliments really do make my day since it could become crappy sometimes, but just looking at my reviews really helps and makes me smile! My OC's really are strange people… but that's how I made them. I really don't want to say much about the OC's just that they harbor ill-feelings… can't say no more! I'm glad you reviewed!**

**Haddrell: I also enjoy their bickering, like in the new chapter! And yes, Uryū does welcome the support but I didn't want him to go complete mushy; he has his pride after all. Ichigo does seem to understand him more since he's the one that is helping him go through with this and has seen him in his worse, I don't want him to treat Uryū like a piece of fine china after all, probably until he's a bit more showing he will. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and how I incorporated the idea of the womb! Thank you for reviewing!**

**Cammy: I'm glad I was able to interest you in the chapter! Thank you for the review!**

**Lng De Jio' o: That's pretty much their personalities right there. And it would be interesting to see their twins inherit these personalities but I have yet to decide on how the kids will stand seeing as they are going to be kids of a Quincy and Shinigami. Thank you for the review!**

**shionch: No prob! I'm just a normal person who needs to relax and take his daily dose of video game hunger with the pain of daily exercise! You were only expressing yourself and that is understandable, heck, my sister expresses herself by things worse than words. Thank you for liking the IchiIshi moment they had when they were implanting the womb. And Kioshi is still being the schemer and making more plans to berate Byakuya with, although, I sometimes think he isn't that… bad… Sorcerers, fairies! I laughed as I imagined a fairy, like the one from Zelda, that was great! But for the mean time, they will remain a bit of a mystery, you just have to wait and see. Out of all of them, I would say that Mikio is the most **_**different**_** of them all seeing as he does seem to be the most put out of the group and his dedication only belongs to Kenshin, like if Kenshin asked something of him he would not hesitate to do it. Kenshin could be considered more than an ally to a point of friend. And thank you for understanding that I have other matters from time to time, I like writing so I don't like taking time to wait until I'm hit with an idea for the next chapter. Thank you for the compliment, it is much appreciated. **

**Nano: Thank you for liking the chapter! I try not to make you guys wait too long! Thanks for the review!**

**sindy: I'm sure Uryū will push through, he has Ichigo at his side! Thank you for the review, really appreciate it!**

**NoCo Forever: Thank you for the compliment. I really appreciate that you think my writing is beautiful, although I sometimes think I don't deserve it. Thank you for the review.**

**I want to sincerely thank you all and hope you enjoy this chapter. I can't wait to finish the next chapter when I have the time. I'm glad that many of you love this and that keeps me going, so thank you. **

**Please, review! **


	27. Flow In Me

**A/N: Sorry for such a late update!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Flow In Me<p>

"The man said, "This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." Kenshin closes his eyes as he recites the words he held up to his face, the small black, worn out book steady in his hand. A smile spread on his features as he continued to recite the words that he did not need to see to read out loud. "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." _One flesh, one soul._

Kenshin closes the book up and places it back inside his coat pocket. His thoughts soon began to wander as he began to contemplate. _To create one must make anew, to destroy one must be evil. But to recreate, one must have a vision. These elements are what make the sinners sin and try to recreate a world and mold it to their own desire. If this world brings forth a new beginning of Shinigami and Quincy, then all shall forever be lost, and man will fall from grace. _

"Kenshin-sama?"

"Hn? Oh, Hiromi, what is it?" his words soft to the ear but demanding like a crashing wave about to demolish a foundation. Some had to wonder if he was either neutral and contempt or whether it was the opposite. A man can only hide his true self for as long as he can prolong it.

Hiromi smiles as he places his hands behind his back, Kenshin was always straight to the point. "I was wondering how long I shall remain trapped inside these walls. I do tend to get bored and I oh so miss the wonderful sight of the deep blue."

Chuckling fills the room as it echoed through-out. "I see, so you are asking me to let you out into the Material World." Not asking it as a question but stating a mere fact. "I suppose…" hesitating for only a moment, "… but if you go into the Material World, I want you to send Mikio and Kioshi a message from me." His intentions were hidden behind his kind smile. A smile from a visionary.

The dark-haired man gave a slight bow and as he waits for Kenshin to give his order. Hiromi knew that Kenshin's word was absolute, and he would follow it without hesitation, that's what it means to be a Verlossing.

* * *

><p>Warm water crashes down on the bare body of Ishida Uryū as he had his eyes shut with the front of his body to the showerhead. He had woken up with the same urge to regurgitate anything he had eaten and made his way to the bathroom. This, of course, woke up Ichigo who was rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. He had locked the door in a way to convey that he did not need him to follow him in. It was bad enough he had to see him vomit the first time, he would not allow it to become a constant routine. Uryū will admit while he does enjoy the thoughtfulness of Ichigo's actions, he doesn't want to complete depend on him so early in the pregnancy.<p>

But Ichigo being Ichigo, he had asked if he wanted to go retrieve him some clothes from their apartment. Uryū knew that it would be foolish not to take advantage of this and agreed to his comply. Now he stands under the showerhead after puking his insides free just like his body had commanded. He dislikes not being in control of his body but knew that this was all natural, well, not to a male but from the books he read, it's very natural for woman to lose themselves during pregnancies, he just wishes he could have a bit more knowledge on the matter. Books and personal experiences are two completely different things, and he's learning that the hard way.

Uryū opens his eyes and looks down to his stomach, the sacred place in were his unborn twins are slowly but surely growing. He reaches his hand out and places it on his still taut abdomen. The Quincy had to wonder how long until he would begin to show, and whether he would be able to have a normal pregnancy from here on out. Shoving a small sphere up your ass isn't your normal standard procedure, but it seems to have worked for him. The once bubbly and free flowing feeling he used to feel was completely gone. Replacing it with a more enclosed space for the children to develop more regularly and not be everywhere, like grains of sand washing away with the tides, hardly stable.

He rubs his stomach and a smile began to take over his features, it was tender, caring, and also loving. Uryū knew that he would love his children with all his being, it truly was a miracle to be able to make life into the world, even if it was a strange way to do it, he couldn't bring himself to care. Still stroking his stomach, Uryū had to wonder how Ichigo and he will be able to take this head on. It wasn't like they could train endlessly and then use it, no; it was more like-a-hands on experience. Step by step, they each will begin to learn, but then there are also more issues to come. For example, how will Ichigo explain a small child—who could possibly look like him—crawling around and wailing for attention, he certainly knew that Ichigo would not keep secrets from his family about this matter. This wasn't something so miniscule that you could easily hide, and if he did decide to hide it, how would one go about their everyday life taking care of a small infant without someone asking questions. Many thoughts began to flow into Uryū's mind, and not all of them were positive. Now he was beginning to worry about Ichigo's little sisters and how they would take the idea of being made aunts, also, how will they take the idea of the mother… being a father?

Everything was starting to pile up and Uryū didn't even know how to begin to rationalize with the two sisters. It's not like they could sit over dinner and suddenly one of them say "Oh, and by the way, my boyfriend is pregnant" it would most definitely either make them faint, or begin to laugh their ass off, and then faint when they realize that they were being serious. And would they accept Ichigo being with a man instead of a woman? The thought of being rejected by Ichigo's sisters began to worry Uryū. He knew that Ichigo's sisters are the most important family to him and the thought of them not accepting the two would just be devastating. All these insecurities were really messing up Uryū more than he thought before he started thinking about them. He shook his head and tried to think positive, but even so, Uryū knew that he needed to discuss this topic with Ichigo, better sooner than later.

He stops rubbing his abdomen and simply kept his hands over his belly. Soon, very soon, there will be two beautiful children in Ichigo's and Uryū's arms. _My babies, on the pride of the Quincy, I promise to always protect you, to nurture you, and most of all I promise to love you._ With that in mind, Uryū turns off the water and moves the curtains aside. When he steps out of the shower, Uryū senses that Ichigo was walking up to the door and soon enough, he began knocking on it.

"Oi, Ishida, I brought you your clothes! I'm going to open the door." Without waiting for the Quincy's consent, Ichigo begins opening the door.

Uryū quickly reached for a towel and wraps it around his hips before Ichigo could walk in on him naked. He knew once Ichigo saw him completely bare, he would look at him like some piece of meat and just devour him with his eyes. Could one consider that rape? Uryū decided that he did and pulled his towel until it covers up his nipples, holding it in place with one hand.

Ichigo looked over to Uryū and saw that he was trying to hide his body under the towel, almost if he was trying to protect himself from a sexual offender. The redhead gave him a weary expression as he looked over to the Quincy. "Tch, nothing I haven't seen before." This causes Uryū to glare at him, but it didn't hold that coldness since he hadn't put on his glasses yet. "Anyway, I brought you your clothes." Ichigo rotates his body and pulled a shirt, pants, and boxers from a black duffle bag that was hanging at his side.

Catching the clothes as Ichigo slightly tosses them with not much force behind it; Uryū sets them on top of the toilet lid. "Thank you; now leave so that I can dress." He turns his back to the redhead and expects him to walk out of the room, but when he hears the door close, he didn't expect for Ichigo to walk behind him and place his hands on Uryū's hips. This, of course startled Uryū since it seems very forward on Ichigo's part. Ichigo wouldn't do anything he didn't want to do, but as seconds turned into minutes, he knew that something was clouding the redhead's mind.

Uryū glances over his shoulder and saw Ichigo with his eyes closed. "What? Do you need something, Kurosaki?" Ichigo only hummed as a response and kept in the same position, not moving an inch. Then one of his hands began traveling from his hips to the clasp of the towel, but before Uryū could retort a reply, Ichigo only held him in place with his other hand, reassuring him that he wasn't going to try anything. The Quincy didn't say anything and Ichigo began to pull the towel free, letting it pool at the feet of Uryū. They both stood still and then Ichigo breathes out a breath he didn't know he was holding. With his eyes still shut, Ichigo reaches out his hand and settles it on Uryū's stomach.

"I could sense them," whispers Ichigo into Uryū's ear, voice holding seductiveness. "It's like some magnetic pull that I needed to follow, and even now it's still pulling me closer, wanting me to reach out and touch the energy so that it could flow into me." Ichigo began to rub his hand up and down and heard Uryū give out a small sigh. "It's so hypnotizing how you can do this. Your body is soft, Ishida, and the babies are going to grow here," he squeezes his hip for emphasis, "and I bet you're going to look beautiful."

As Ichigo kept whispering words of sweetness to Uryū, the Quincy was only growing hotter under the breath of the redhead mingling near his ear, sending shivers up his spine. "Ku-Kurosaki, stop." His voice held a bit of embarrassment laced with his usual commanding tone that left no questioning on his partner's part. But the way Ichigo was talking was setting him off, like a moth trying to escape the seductive dance of a bright shining light. He knew if this kept going, he would lose his self-control and give into those raging hormones. "Kurosaki, stop," his tone firm as he said is this time around.

As if coming out of a trance, Ichigo's eyes slightly widen and the look of lust somewhat vanishes. He squeezes Uryū's hip one more time before picking up the duffle bag he had dropped on the floor. Turning around to face away from him, Ichigo opens the door. "I'll see if there's anything to eat." Exiting the room, Ichigo wonders what had made him act so lustful towards the Quincy. _Great, now I want him, and I don't even think that's possible until he gives birth. Guess I'm going to have to enjoy cold showers from now on._

Uryū felt his heart pounding in his chest and was thankful Ichigo couldn't see the look on his face which was red from the blood that was still able to move from his southern region to his face. He let out a shaky breath and occupied himself in getting dressed since he could feel his stomach grumbling to be fed. Though the feeling in his southern region still held that need for release, he ignored it as he tucks it into his boxers. _At least my normal clothes still fit._ After placing on all his clothing, Uryū heads out of the bathroom and made his way towards where the scent of food was calling him.

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><p>Byakuya was watching over a sleeping Rukia who had been changed by a maid since it would have been indecent and inappropriate for him to do so. But ever since Rukia had been cleaned and dressed, she had refused to wake up, but he didn't know whether to be relived, because then she wouldn't go crazy in wondering why she was with a man she hardly knew, or worried. He knew he felt the latter but also somewhat of the first as well, all Byakuya knew was that he couldn't return to Soul Society with an amnesia Rukia. Many would ask questions, questions he knew he could not answer.<p>

He rubs his temple and stood up from the edge of the bed, moving to sit on a chair in the room. The Taichou was befuddled on what his next move would be. Closing his eyes, he went through all the suggestions in his head. First, he couldn't concern Ichigo with this matter but at the same time if he didn't tell the boy then there would be trouble later. His other suggestion was that he could return to Soul Society and hope that whatever that man did was not permanent, but even he had to admit that that wasn't the right solution at the moment.

Opening his eyes, he looks over the sleeping Rukia who's only movement was the breathing she was making, her chest bobbing up and down. _Rukia, forgive me for not being able to protect you like I should have, I deserve punishment for my recklessness and pride. I shouldn't have let that man cloud my mind of what I was trying to protect and this is what I have to pay. Forgive me._

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><p>Landing near a river bank, Hiromi breaths in the sweet scent of the river as it glowed with the shine of the sun overhead. "What a marvelous place. It's been awhile since I actually had seen the deep blue." His smile disappears as he looks away from the streaming water. "But I can't indulge myself here for far too long, I need to find Kioshi and Mikio. I must send them Kenshin-sama's regards."<p>

Looking around, he knew he wouldn't be able to sense out his fellow comrades since they diminish their reiatsu completely. _But I can still track them down by their body water._ "Now, where to find the traces of the sixty-five percent of water?" he looks over to the stream and smiled. "I guess this wouldn't hurt." Hiromi walks closer and kneels down close to the deep water. Placing his hand in the water, he twirls his index finger around until it started to swirl on its own. Soon after, the water began to glow until it showed the locations of both Kioshi and Mikio. "I found you."

Standing back up, he places his finger inside his mouth and lets his tongue swirl around it. _Delicious._ He lets a smile cross his features and then he disappears from where he once was, manifesting in a field of flowers. Hiromi looks around and spots a man lying down with a relaxed face, as his arms supports his head. _Tch, no respect whatsoever._

Mikio was taking in the sweet aroma of the flowers around him until he smells something that reminds him of a body of water. _This smell… could it be—_

Before he could finish his thought, Mikio was sent flying through the grass field. Hiromi had an innocent smile on his face as he held a leg up in the air from the kick he had given Mikio. "Good evening, Mikio."

Standing up from the ground, Mikio narrows his eyes at the dark-haired man. "Hiromi," he said as he hisses the name out in anger for being caught off guard. "What are you doing here? Only I and Kioshi are suppose to keep guard here! Are you out of your mind?"

Hiromi shook his head. "Keep _guard_? Why, the only thing you two seem to be doing is having a vacation. Let me remind you that your duty was to spill your seed into those humans so that this town would riot on beliefs that weren't never there. But all you've been doing is doing the half of your duty."

Mikio could not believe that Hiromi was preaching to him on what he could and could not do. He was sent here to only watch over the Quincy and Shinigami while at the same time unraveling his seed into the humans so that they would riot and beat all those who were wrong. But now this man stands before him and says that he's doing his _job_ wrong! Mikio had never been more humiliated in his life!

Again, Hiromi smiles down at Mikio as he said mockingly, "Mikio?" the man was dusting away his pants as he let his emotions show through his eyes. Hiromi found it hilarious how he could easily lose his emotions to himself. "This was a message from Kenshin-sama."

_What! Kenshin!_ Mikio's eyes widen as Hiromi continued.

"He said that if either you or Kioshi are slacking, then I have no use but to take you both back. I really don't think you'll like that, now will you?" Hiromi turns around and began walking away. "Oh, and one more thing," he kept walking, never turning to look at Mikio. "You should know that out of all of us, you should be more _grateful_ that you're still here." Hiromi disappears soon after he finished talking.

Mikio relaxes his tense posture and looks down, defeated. _He's right… I should be grateful. The only reason they all still endure me is because of my power. The thing that doesn't make me human, the thing those humans described me as a _monster_. I don't want to see their faces anymore…_ He closes his eyes tightly and could see the many eyes of hatred, detest and loathing looking back at him. _Humans are—no—Quincy's are the real monsters! _He clenches his fist tightly until they turn white and began walking away from the sweet flowing field of flowers.

* * *

><p>Kioshi turns another page in his book and once in a while he would look over the edge to see the redheaded girl either cleaning her room or going to another room to do her other business. He would usual hear her talking with a dark-haired girl but he had no interest in her nor did he see her as any kind of threat. Flipping another page, Kioshi came to a stop and quickly dodges a kick that was flying at him. He kept his half-lidded look on the spot where the kick came from until he heard a voice talking next to him.<p>

"That's some good reflexes, Kioshi."

Looking from the corner of his eyes, Kioshi saw Hiromi looking down at the tree he was once sitting at. "Hiromi, did Kenshin-sama sent you here?" not one to beat around the bush.

Shaking his head as he let a chuckle out, Hiromi looks over to Kioshi. "Always the first to get down to business, but to answer your question, yes, I was sent here by Kenshin-sama. He told me to send his regards to both you and Mikio. You two seem to be having such a ball that I thought I should come personally to see what was so fun." Hiromi looks at the apartment and smiled. "I can see you are terribly occupied at the moment. But as I told Mikio, you are not here to have a vacation."

Kioshi closes his eyes and looks away from Hiromi. "I am not here on a vacation like that fool. I have already taken precautions in eliminating some of the loose ends; that is all. Mikio is the one that seems to misunderstand where he stands."

"Hmm, either way, the two of you would do well to keep in mind what you are here for. Your job was to get that woman to place her trust in you, and yet I see no results that she has done this."

Pocketing his book in his coat, Kioshi took out a mirror and shows it to Hiromi, first showing his reflection until it began to project the image of a sleeping raven-haired girl. "She is now under my control. With her out of the picture, she will do well in convincing all those around her and fill them with lies and despair."

Taking a closer look of the girl in the mirror, the blue-eyed man seems unimpressed. "Yes, well, let's just hope you don't get _attached_," Kioshi's hold on the mirror tightens, "to your marionette. We have no use in Shinigami who are nothing more than a means to an end. If Kenshin-sama sees it fit to get rid of the Shinigami; then be prepared to kill the young Shinigami girl."

Hiromi began walking away until he heard Kioshi.

"Are you going to stay here any longer or return back?"

Looking over his shoulder, Hiromi shot Kioshi an innocent smile. "Do not worry yourself; I have taken my fill of the deep blue, I shall return back home. I merely came here as a messenger, but have no doubts, the next time I show up, it won't be for a friendly chat." He then left Kioshi by himself.

"Hm, what a troublesome man," he looks down at his mirror and wonders if he should let the young girl regain consciousness. _No, that would be too early; the strain in her mind would not be able to cope with her surroundings so easily. I shall allow her to rest more until I need her._ He pockets his mirror and went back to rest against the tree.

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><p>Ichigo watches as Uryū engulfs plate after plate of freshly made food by Tessai, and wonders if he should tell him to calm down and eat it slowly, but he had a feeling that if he did that, then he would be staring down the cold glare from the Quincy. Standing up, Ichigo left his unfinished plate on the table. When he started walking away, Uryū had called out to him.<p>

"Kurosaki, you haven't finished your food?"

Looking over to the Quincy, Ichigo scratches the back of his head awkwardly. "Uh, I'm not really that hungry, and besides, I have to go somewhere." Ichigo saw a look of distaste on the Quincy but he quickly covers that up by grabbing another bowl on the table.

"Have fun then," his voice cold towards the Shinigami, and it didn't go unnoticed as he gave Uryū one more glance.

Exiting the room, Ichigo grabs a jacket that he had left near the exit and places it on. Right before he could exit, he heard the shoji slide open.

"Hm, Kurosaki, are you heading out?"

The redhead nods as he turns to look over to Urahara. "Yeah, I was going to go out for a bit."

"Don't you think that's a bit unfair?" Urahara saw the look of bewilderment come across Ichigo's face. "What I mean is, leaving Ishida-kun here all day locked up isn't good for him. It seems unfair that you are able to go anywhere while he has to stay behind, he is your boyfriend, isn't he?"

Ichigo's eyes slightly widen at what Urahara said. _I didn't know that Ishida wanted to go out? _"He seems to be busy eating and anyway, I don't think he would like to come with me—"

"Kurosaki, you did not answer my question. Is or is not Ishida-kun your boyfriend?"

The Shinigami looked away and began to let his mind wander. _Come to think of it, I don't even think we placed a name on what we are, I know my feeling for him, but what about him. Does he feel the same for him as I do for him?_ "He… is," feebly ending his sentence which seemed to surprise Urahara.

The shopkeeper took a seat and looks at Ichigo from under his hat. "Kurosaki, I believe you hesitated that moment." Ichigo scows at Urahara but it didn't seem to faze him. "Let me ask you this, have you ever thought about where your preferences lie?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ichigo felt himself grow flustered the more Urahara kept talking.

"I'm talking about if you really wanted Ishida-kun to be your boyfriend then you wouldn't just push him aside to make room for your free time. Think about what he has to go through because of you." The redhead looks away. "All I'm saying is that you can't be the best friend to someone who is caring your future children anymore. Like it or not, Ishida-kun is now part of your life and most of all, he is part of your family."

_My… family? _Ichigo looks down and didn't notice Urahara leave him to think. _I know I like Ishida—a lot, actually—but my family? Does he even want to be a part of my family? I know that his dad isn't going to accept us but what about mine. What about Yuzu and Karin? Where do they fit in all this? I-I want… I want to make this official, that's what I want. I want to be able to let someone know that Ishida Uryū is my partner and the future father of my children. I know Yuzu and Karin will accept him, right? I have to at least try. I need to show Ishida that what we are is real._

Ichigo walks over to the shoji and slid it open, he saw Uryū reading a book that he has read more than once. He strode over to him and sat beside him. The Quincy didn't even look up from his book as he said, "I thought you were heading out," no emotion behind his voice which made Ichigo uneasy.

"Yeah, well, I decided I wanted to take you somewhere so I—"

Uryū closes his book and turns to look at Ichigo, interrupting him from continuing. "Listen, Kurosaki, I have been having some thoughts lately, and I don't want to intrude more into your life then I have to, I don't—"

"Shut up."

The Quincy's eyes widen. "What?"

Ichigo looks up from the floor, a resolve in his eyes as he stars back to the deep pools of sapphire. "I said, 'Shut up'. Who said I didn't want you to intrude into my life? Ishida, if you haven't already noticed, you are my life. You have been ever since you showed yourself to me all those years back, and now, I want to make it official." Ichigo stood up and held his hand out for Uryū to take. "Ishida, come home with me—my _real_ home."

And Uryū didn't need to ask what his "real" home meant because he knew very well that Ichigo was more than determined to show him that he wants him, in more ways than one. This wasn't just something to prove to him that he was joking around or that he could try to deny it anymore. Ichigo was inviting him to where he was raised as a child. His home. The place where all children called their safe haven and sanctuary. Uryū had forgotten what it meant to have something like that until he met Ichigo, the most stubborn and idiotic man he had the pleasure of setting his eyes on. And now, he was going to take him and show him what a "real" home really was, and he wasn't going to deny him the pleasure of doing so. It was something he longed for Ichigo to do, even if he would deny it later to himself.

Pushing his glasses up, Uryū could feel his insides swell up with… happiness. "Stupid Shinigami."

All Ichigo did was smile as Uryū took his hand and began to stand up. _There! I feel as if something is flowing in me, whether it is his reiatsu or another force, I don't _ever_ want to let this go. Uryū, you flow in me with just a simple touch from your dexterity hands. I'm going to show you that what we have is going to last for a long time._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm sorry for taking so long with this chapter! I meant to put it on sooner but I just got a new puppy (Chihuahua) and he had me running around as he tried to hide under all the furniture! It's tiring! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I guess you know who'll show up in the next chapter.**

**Verlossing: Salvation.**

**Review Response:**

**Gemini24: Thanks for enjoying the scenes with IchiIshi, and since Uryū is pregnant, Ichigo tends to keep a better watch of him. He is carrying his children. And Rukia is still unconscious! Forgive me for having done this to her but it's necessary in the story and plot. Yes, I know how Ichigo will react when he knows about Rukia, which one reason why Byakuya doesn't want to mention it to him. It's not Kioshi that's adopted but Mikio, Kioshi is in the line. And no one can sense their reiatsu since they have complete control of it and since they don't want to be detected, they hide it, it's not just Kioshi, but all the others as well. As for it being an innate ability, I can't say right now… **

**Cammy: Thank you for your compliment as always!**

**Reina De La Noche: I'm so SORRY! Don't punish me so! Haha, thanks for the compliment on the chapter, I really appreciate that. And yeah, it was hormones. And I wouldn't say that Kioshi is the most hated among the OC's. And even if it doesn't look it, he does seem to have a soft spot for women, he just hides it pretty well, and this will show more later on. As for that war, I really don't have much to go on it so my answer is no, at least for now. **

**shionch: Thanks for the compliment! I don't think that Kioshi intends to hurt Orihime, more like he's trying to gain her trust in his own twisted way. The amnesia that Rukia is experiencing is manly due because of Kioshi's power over her. And no, Byakuya isn't affected by Kioshi's power. Thanks for your compliment on the IchiIshi scene! Yeah, I have seen the 360 omake! I swear, all those omake's with the Quiz is hilarious! Uryū being a mom in canon, I loved that scene! To your theory, it's somewhat right, I feel like your getting closer in figuring it out! Thanks for the review!**

**Haddrell: Thank you for liking the scene. And Uryū's hormones will play a big part of his body involvement and affect him the more it progresses. Uryū is a proud Quincy that I have to make sure I keep him character as well as I can. He will certainly protect his children no matter the cost, that's a trait he has and I would like to show when they come into play. Thanks for the review and hope this chapter satisfied you.**

**Nano: Thank you for the compliment on the scene, it really means a lot! **

**Vivora: Thanks for the compliment!**

**The Animal Monster: Thank you for the compliment! As for Kon, he's with Yuzu in Ichigo's old home. It's coming soon! Of course, Kenpachi is also going to have a part in the story. Thank you for the compliment on my description, it means a lot. Thanks for the review!**

**Long De Jiao Ao: The twins power will either be different from one another or they will both inherit their parents ability, I'm still uncertain as of now, but I hope to figure it out. It really is interesting…**

**Substitute Quincy: Right now there are three members in Soul Society and neither is interested in having anything to do with Shinigami. They have their own agenda which is far more than just Ichigo and Uryū but they dislike anyone who tends to get in their way of what they believe in. The twins are really in Kenshin's thoughts as to what to do with them, but for now, he's really cautious. And you're right; Ichigo would not let anyone try to harm Uryū or his children! He'll bring down Zangetsu on them all!**

**Please review!**


	28. Acceptance

**A/N: A more family reunion in this chapter, giving my OC's a break.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Acceptance<p>

Shouldn't someone who is going to announce their relationship to a family member feel a bit delighted? But then, why does Uryū not feel that at all? Instead, he's a bit doubtful of the whole situation. Uryū looks from the corner of his eyes and stares at Ichigo. He looks almost nonchalant, maybe it's because he hasn't seen his sisters for quite a while, but still… shouldn't Ichigo be the least worry? Removing his gaze from the Shinigami, Uryū looks off to the side, clenching his fists tightly. Nervousness soon begins to set in.

Walking next to Uryū, Ichigo could see that he was a bit distressed. He already had an idea of what that was coming from but he really wanted him to be a bit more hopeful. The Shinigami was about to announce his relationship with Uryū to his sisters, he didn't want him to be awkward about it or seem like he was being forced into a confession. It wasn't the first time he met his younger sisters. Yuzu and Uryū have the same hobbies with their sewing and she's always polite towards him. But Karin… she's a whole different story. _Is that what's worrying him?_ Ichigo looks over to Uryū and sees his hands tight into fists. Suddenly, he reaches out and grabs onto the Quincy's forearm, halting him.

Shock is the first thing that crosses Uryū's face as he looks over to Ichigo. "Ku-Kurosaki? Is there a problem?" he waits for Ichigo to respond but before he could ask him anymore questions, Ichigo pulls him to his chest, wrapping his arms around him in a protective manner. Uryū is about to ask him about this stunt until Ichigo interrupts him.

"Ishida, I don't want you to do anything you're not ready for. I-I don't want to force you into telling my sisters that you're in a relationship with me, or that you're going to be the father of my unborn twins." Ichigo presses his face closer to the crook of Uryū's neck, taking in the sweet scent that strangely calms him. "I want us to do this because we _want _to, not because we _need_ to."

Uryū's arms are limp at his side as he takes in all that Ichigo is saying into his ear where he can feel the light breath emitting from the redhead. His lips thin into a straight line, not knowing what to say to him, but then he brings up his arms and returns the gesture. Uryū leans forward to speak his words into the Shinigami's ear, just like he did a few moments ago. "Kurosaki, what I _want_ is for the both of us to take this one step at a time. I don't know how your sisters will take the news of us being together, less more on the fact that I'm expecting, but the only thing I know is that we're doing it together. I know how much you want to and… I want to, too."

Not knowing how to respond to what Uryū just said, Ichigo tightens his hold and brings him more closely to his body. "Ishida, I'm glad." And he really is. Ichigo thought that Uryū was forcing himself into something he wasn't ready for, but now he knows that he is more than willing to move a step ahead with him. Together. It really puts his mind at ease. The Shinigami shifts his head to the side and lands a kiss on his cheek—causing Uryū to pull away.

Pushing his glasses up, Uryū sends a glare over to the Shinigami. "What the hell, Kurosaki. We don't need you to get all sentimental in the middle of the street. What if someone saw us! We can't…"

Ichigo just stares at the blabbering Quincy but then his eyes grow warm as he ignores everything he is saying. Shaking his head, Ichigo starts walking again, a smile on his face as he walks pass Uryū.

"And… are you even listening!" Uryū scowls over to the Shinigami that just walked by him. He quickly catches up with Ichigo but he's still irritated that he mustn't have heard a single word he was saying. _Typical._ Shaking his head, Uryū notices that he's a bit calmer than before.

Looking over to the Quincy, Ichigo sees that he's more composed and relaxed. _Good, an uptight Ishida isn't good company. But now he can feel at ease and not over think about the negatives. _Looking back forward, Ichigo begins to wonder about his sisters. _Even if we're both calm, the final word belongs to them. But could it be possible for them to… reject us?_ Ichigo shakes these thoughts from his head and decides to think about anything other than what could happen if they are, somehow, rejected. He looks over to Uryū and his eyes quickly shift to his abdomen, not realizing how long he keeps his stare there, Uryū glares over to him.

"Stop staring at my stomach." Uryū crosses his arms over his stomach in hope of that stopping Ichigo from staring. This innocent action, though, only causes Ichigo to growl in protest. Both keep walking, but the Shinigami brings his pace closer to Uryū, walking right beside him until they are inches apart.

"I wasn't staring, I was admiring! There's a difference." His gaze is on the Quincy for a moment until his eyes trail back down to his covered up abdomen, glaring at the obstacle in his way. He then sees Uryū trying to get some space between them as he walks to the side a bit.

"What's there to admire, Kurosaki? In a couple months the only thing you'll being seeing is a bigger stomach." Irritation is clear on his voice and now he's dreading the idea of ever going outside with the weight he will begin to gain, more so because he's caring twins which will make his stomach twice as big then a normal pregnancy.

Catching up with the Quincy, Ichigo only shakes his head. "There's a lot to admire. For starters, I won't see a bigger stomach because you'll gain weight or anything stupid like that. I'll see two little infants growing healthy inside you." Ichigo reaches out for one of Uryū's arms and pulls it from its position, grasping his hand in his so that he won't go back to hiding what he mostly treasures. "So stop trying to hide something so admirable. You look fine now and I know you'll look fine in a couple of months."

Uryū's eyes widen at what Ichigo said but he quickly covers that up by trying to pull his hand free from the tight hold the Shinigami has it in. "Y-you're nuts, now let me go! Someone could see us and—"

"Tch, like I care."

Still trying to break free, Uryū says, "One of your friends could see—"

"Still don't care."

"A neighbor—"

"Nope."

Getting even more frustrated, the Quincy gives Ichigo a skeptical look. "Then what do you care about, Kurosaki?"

Not even hesitating for a moment, he says, "You."

Uryū became speechless and his struggle to break free subsides as he was left dumbstruck from what Ichigo said. He's never had anyone outright say that they cared for him, sure many of his friends would do anything to help him out, but to have someone say it out loud was really surprising. The only other person who said something like that was his grandfather, and even since then no one, not even Ryūken, though, he knew he will never say something like that at all, ever said something so touching. Actually, even if Uryū hates to admit it, the more time he spends with Ichigo, the more he begins to fall for the idiot. He doesn't know how to explain it but the feelings he gets from just being near him makes him forget about everything else and let's himself be consumed in all that is Ichigo. It's not an attraction that he can fight off, nor will he even try to. But even if he hears Ichigo say all these comments, there's still something that has been bugging him. "Kurosaki, do you feel anything for me other than an obligation to stay at my side because I carry your children?" Uryū needs to know what Ichigo feels for him. If it's because he's only with him for the children… then no matter how hard it will be, he'll try to move on and have his children be the greatest reminder of their time spent together. But if Ichigo _really_ does feel something for him, then what more could he ask for.

_Do I feel something for Ishida?_ That question made Ichigo stop their walking as he looks over to the Quincy who is looking off to the side, almost afraid of what his answer could be. The Shinigami does in fact _feel _something for Uryū which reminds him of the love he had for his mother. Explaining it would take forever, but what he feels for Uryū is more than what he feels for any of his other friends—he cares for every single one of them—but it still doesn't match to what he has for the Quincy. He loves his little sisters, heck, even his dad, but not even that is enough to match up for what he has for Uryū. And it's scary. Ichigo has never been in a relationship before but if love is the feeling one gets when they're with someone they never want to leave alone and always want to wake up beside them every day, then there is no doubt about it.

Ichigo reaches out and grasps Uryū's chin with his hand so that he could bring his gaze to him. Just looking into the piercing eyes of the Quincy makes him want to hold him and never let go. "Ishida," Uryū looks into his eyes, not moving his gaze, "I know many hormonal teenage idiots will say words like 'I love you' or 'I need you' to get some from their partner, but when _I _say that I really, _really_ do feel something more than love for you to the point that I admire you, then I do feel something for you."

Uryū just keeps staring into the Shinigami's eyes and sees that he is telling him the truth, and that makes all the doubts he had go right through the window. Breaking eye contact, he pushes his glasses up and says, "Kurosaki, that is the most… disgustingly nice thing you've ever said. You should just let your actions do the talking instead of—" and he couldn't finish his sentence because his lips were captured by tanner ones. His eyes slowly began to shut as Ichigo firmly holds his lips in his.

_Stupid Ishida. Then how about I put my lips to work. _Capturing Uryū's lips always gave him the taste of something sweet mixed with mint. Clean but sweet to the touch. And Ichigo likes that taste as he begins to shift from angle to angle to kiss at those lips. Breaking away, he opens his eyes and sees Uryū lick at his lips. _I wonder what he tastes when I kiss him._ Not dwelling on the matter for much longer since Uryū opens up his eyes and pushes his glasses up with his middle finger, blush noticeable as it goes across his cheeks.

"We shouldn't waste anymore time."

This time when Ichigo holds his hand, Uryū doesn't fight it off.

* * *

><p>Eyelids slowly began to flutter open to show violet-colored eyes. Though, the young Shinigami was slowly starting to reawaken, her whole being felt strangely tired. Rukia blinks her eyes for a bit in hope to adjust to the darkness of the room, closing them up for a quick second, she turns her head to the side and then opens her eyes back up. Violet eyes widen as she sees a man resting on a chair across from her. She can distinctively remember him from when he was trying to capture her, but if she tried thinking to hard her head would throb in pain. Closing her eyes, she shifts her head to look up towards the ceiling. <em>Where am I? Why is it that I can't seem to recall anything other than that man? <em>Rukia tightly closes her eyes as all the questions flowing in her head are taking a toll on her. A slight whimper emits from her lips and then she hears a sharp intake of breath from across the room.

Byakuya opens his eyes the moment he heard a sound, uncrossing his arms from his chest he leans forward on his chair and grasps the armrest with both hands. "Rukia?" he says in a barely audible voice. He shifts in his chair and sees that she has not move at all. _Could it have been my imagination?_ Leaning back on the chair, his eyes hold a look of worry for the petite girl. Byakuya slowly breathes out and closes back his grey eyes and hopes the next time he opens them, Rukia will finally have reawaken.

After waiting for five minutes with no movement, Rukia cracks one eye open and turns her head over to the once again resting man. _Rukia? Is that… my name? So many questions but can I really trust anyone? _Rukia attempts to sit up by pushing the bed with her forearms but finds it harder than she thought. She stops her movements and finds herself exhausted from the little effort she just did. Attempting to try again, she clenches her eyes tight as she struggles to sit up, as she's halfway up, Rukia can no longer hold her position and falls back on the bed causing it to let out a creaking sound.

Grey eyes instantly open up once again and Byakuya looks over to a softly panting Rukia. "Rukia?" he stands up from the chair and begins to make his way over to the young girl who seems to be having trouble catching her breath. "What is wrong?" he nears closer to her side of the bed and kneels on the floor as he reaches one hand out to grasp the smaller one in his.

Rukia slightly jerks her hand away from the one that is close to making contact with her and looks away from the man kneeling at the other side.

Byakuya is shocked that Rukia didn't allow him to touch her and pulls his hand back, clenching it tightly into a fist before settling back on the bed. "Are you hurt?" he waits for a reply but when he doesn't get one, he begins to think that she doesn't want to associate with him at all. He closes his eyes but when he hears a soft whisper, he reopens them and looks closely to Rukia. "What did you say?"

Rukia swallows and repeats herself. "I said… who are you?" her voice was slightly shaky but she just put that off as drowsiness setting in.

This did not go unnoticed by Byakuya but he answered her question, nonetheless. "Kuchiki Byakuya…" the need to add that he was her adopted brother never came to mind as he said, "I'm your friend."

This made Rukia stiffen and become a bit skeptical. Who could she really trust? She slowly brought her head over to the man that had a look of worry in his eyes; eyes that held sincerity that it was hard to tell whether he was lying or not. "Friend? How can I… be sure?"

The Taichou brushes a stray lock of hair from her face and said, "You have to trust me."

Rukia opens her mouth to speak but found herself to drowsy to do so. Her eyes were slowly fluttering shut and she could no longer fight the darkness. Though, before she completely fell, she could feel a warm hand embracing hers as it held it tightly with an assuring squeeze, the warmth spreading.

Holding Rukia's hand in his, Byakuya slowly closes his eyes. _Rukia, how I wish to know what is happening to you. This strangely is reminding me of what happened to Hisana. I will not let you go that easily though. Not this time, I will do everything in my power to help you. I shall not accept this as fate._

* * *

><p>Ichigo and Uryū are both standing outside Kurosaki Clinic and neither moves a single step forward. Narrowing his eyes, Ichigo begins to take a couple steps and then on the fifth one, he notices that he's no longer moving forward which would mean something is preventing him, more like <em>someone<em>.

"Uh?" Ichigo looks behind him and since he hadn't released Uryū's hand yet, the Quincy is the one preventing him from going forward due to him just standing there with his arm outstretched as Ichigo walks. "Oi, come on."

Sadly for Ichigo, Uryū is in his own little world and hasn't heard his words as he continues to wander in his own mind. _All right, the time has come and I need to be prepared for anything. I will not back out of this; this isn't only for me but for Kurosaki as well. Yes, you can do this Ishida. I can—_

No longer going to wait for Uryū to come out of his trance, Ichigo pulls on the Quincy with all his strength since the last few tugs were not getting him anywhere. He expected for Uryū to stand his ground, he didn't expect the dark-haired boy to come shooting towards him with his whole body. "Ahh!"

Safe to say, Uryū was not hurt thanks to the soft object he landed on. Opening his eyes, he knew why he was comfortable. "Kurosaki, what the hell was that for! And why are you on the ground?" he scowls downwards to the lying down Shinigami as he sits on his back.

"Uh, get off me first, you're not exactly lightweight," grumbles Ichigo from the bottom of Uryū.

Uryū's scowl deepens and lifts a fist up. "How dare you! I am not fat!" he smacks Ichigo over the head and then stands up, pushing his glasses up. _Not yet anyway._ Uryū watches as Ichigo stands back up to begin rubbing his back with one hand while the other is rubbing his head.

"Damn, next time don't go into Quincy land when we're about to do something important. Now come on; before you hurt anymore of my body parts," whispering the last part so Uryū wouldn't hear him.

Ichigo opens the front gate of his home and holds it open for Uryū to come through. Though, Uryū does take a couple of seconds of standing there until he walks pass the gate. Shutting the gate back up, Ichigo continues his pace towards the front door of his old house. He looks over to Uryū and when he gives him a nod, he turns back to the door and begins to knock.

Everything was silent as they wait for someone to open the door. Uryū's breath seems to have stopped for a moment when they heard footsteps coming closer to the door. He felt his palms begin to tremble, either with fear or anxiety, it didn't matter. All that matters was that someone has made it to the door and was beginning to open it. Trying to compose himself quickly before the door opens, Uryū clenches his hands into tight fists.

Then, the door finally opens. Standing on the other side was a slight taller, chestnut-haired girl with wide chocolate eyes that matched Ichigo's own. Her mouth opens and then closes back up, repeating this couple of times. Ichigo wanted to chuckle at the resemblance her mouth was making like a fish. But he knew that it wasn't time to get merry but get serious. Though, all the seriousness went away when Yuzu launches herself into her older brother's arms.

"Onii-chan!"

Ichigo lets the small girl hold onto his shirt with tight fists as he places a hand on top of her head. "Oi, I haven't been gone that long." But he knew that since he started university he has been forgetful or either too busy to come visit his younger sisters. His eyes grew gentle as he brought the young girl into hug.

Uryū watches with gentle eyes at the affectionate family reunion between sister and older brother. It tugs something inside his heart and could feel his eyes grow somewhat teary. Pushing his glasses up, Uryū merely placed it off as his hormonal side trying to get the best of him. He smiles at the two and wonders how such an innocent young girl could not want her brother's happiness.

Pulling away from the hug, Ichigo keeps his hand over her head. "Where's Karin?" he looks around through the open door that shows the house, but could not see his younger sister anywhere.

Yuzu wipes her eyes at the tears that piled up after being so overwhelmed with her brother's return. "She went to the store to get some groceries, she'll be back soon." She then turns her head and finally notices Uryū. "Ah, Ishida-kun, hello!" she gives a slight bow.

Uryū does the same and says, "Hello, Yuzu-chan."

Smiling, Yuzu quickly moves back next to the door, gesturing them to come inside. "Come inside, I made breakfast if either of you are hungry."

Ichigo was about to decline her offer until he heard a certain Quincy stomach grumble. He looks over to him and sees that his head was downwards; his cheeks were also slightly red from what he could see. Shaking his head, Ichigo says, "On second thought, I miss your cooking and apparently Ishida does, too."

A giggle came out of Yuzu as she saw how shy Uryū was. "All right, go sit on the table and I'll bring you your food." Yuzu enters the house and heads for the kitchen.

Uryū was incredibly embarrassed about the noise his stomach made as it still shows on his cheeks as he follows Ichigo into the house. The Shinigami looks over to him and grabs his hand, giving it a quick squeeze before letting it go. Uryū knew that he was only reassuring him to believe that everything will be all right, but still he wouldn't completely calm down until this was all done and over with. Taking a seat next to Ichigo, Uryū looks down when he felt something grab at his hand again.

Ichigo leans closer to Uryū and whispers in his ear, "Calm down, it's just my sisters." He then leans away when Yuzu comes back with two plates of delectable foods. Though, he did keep one hand under the table as a safety precaution to let Uryū know that he wouldn't let him go and that everything will be okay.

Hearing Ichigo say that and having him hold his hand was settling him down. Reaching for the plate that Yuzu was handing him, he places it in front on him with a smile on his face. "Itadakimasu," he then proceeded to take a taste of the meal in front of him. His taste buds were enjoying the food as it enters his mouth to the point that he lets out a quiet moan that didn't go unnoticed by Ichigo.

"Itadakimasu," Ichigo then began to dig into his own meal and understood why Uryū was enjoying it so much. The rich flavor was practically melting into his mouth as Ichigo tastes it with his tongue. _Damn, how I miss her cooking!_ They both continued to eat their breakfast and each loved it.

Yuzu smiled at how they ate her cooking and was glad she could make them both enjoy it. It also made her glad that she made extra because it had been a long time that she had not served her brother or any of his friends. She likes cooking for her dad and Karin but she misses cooking for the whole family. It something one gets used to after doing it for many of years.

Once Ichigo and Uryū finished their breakfast, they heard a door open and close which was also accompanied by a voice saying her arrival. "Yuzu, I'm ba—" Karin stops mid-sentence when she turns and sees Ichigo sitting at the table as if he never left the house. Her mouth is gaping at seeing her older brother and all she can say is, "Ichi-nii… wh—"

Ichigo releases Uryū's hand and stood up. "What? No hug?"

Instantly the groceries found themselves dropped on the floor as Karin walks towards her brother, and envelops him in a hug; burying her face in his shirt to assure herself that he really is here and not just a figment of her imagination. "Ichi-nii, what are you doing here? You didn't' even call to say you were coming by." She pulls away from Ichigo to see his face.

Scratching the back of his head, Ichigo gives a sheepish smile. "Oh, well I wasn't thinking ahead. I just came by to tell you guys something."

Karin completely pulls away from Ichigo and then acknowledges Uryū. "Oh, you brought the polite one this time." She then walks over to pick up the bags that she dropped a few minutes ago.

The Quincy stood up and gave a slight bow. "Hello, Karin-chan." He was a bit put off at hearing her meekly reply and knew that it might be harder to get through to her than the other sister. But he still hopes for both of them to be gracious of their decisions.

Karin gave a grunt in reply and places the bags on the table, pulling out a chair to take a seat on. "I wasn't expecting either of you to be here, so I'm guessing you have something important to say." Getting straight to what they were both here for.

"Karin-chan! It's rude to assume something like that." Whined Yuzu as she took a seat next to Karin.

The dark-haired girl looks over to Yuzu. "It's not rude. It's just getting to the point," she moves her gaze towards the two other boys who had taken a seat across from them. "So, I'm right, right?"

Ichigo and Uryū glance at each other, giving themselves a look of agreement and understanding. The Shinigami gave a nod of his head to Karin's question. "Yeah, actually we came here to tell you something very important." His voice filled with seriousness.

The chestnut-haired girl had a look of worry as Ichigo said that. "Onii-chan, you're beginning to worry me."

Ichigo shook his head. "It's nothing to be concerned about. It's just…" his voice trailed off as he tries to find the right way to say what he wanted to say. "… Well, it's about me and… a partner that I have established a relationship with." The Shinigami studies Karin and Yuzu's face to see how they were taking it so far. Karin seems more alert and straightens herself up on the chair, waiting to see what else he had to say; her eyes somewhat glance towards Uryū for a second before she looks back over to Ichigo. He figures because Uryū looks away for a moment and pushes his glasses up. Not that that is a strange habit for him but when he pushes his glasses up, his hand seems to shake a bit until he returns it back under the table, hiding it from anyone's viewing vision. Yuzu seems more confused than Karin since she can't really figure out who's he talking about.

"Onii-chan, are you saying you're seeing someone romantically?"

Karin crosses her arms over her chest as she answers her sister's question. "It seems like it. So, do we know this person or is someone you met?"

Taking a breath in, Ichigo tries his hardest not to blurt out who he is seeing. "It's someone you know. Actually, the person is one of my friends." He'll say that much and see if they can figure it out until he has no choice but to come out and say it. Reaching his hand out to seek Uryū's, he realizes that his hand is clenching his pants with a tight fist. He places his hand over Uryū's, not once looking away from his sisters eyes.

Narrowing her eyes, Karin looks at Ichigo suspiciously. "If this person is one of your friends and we know who it is, why isn't that person here?" _Unless that person is here._

Yuzu looks from Karin to Ichigo. "Onii-chan, Karin-chan has a point, why isn't this person here? If it's a friend then we don't have a problem with it since we know they're your friend."

_It's not that he's a friend that I'm worried about, it's that he's a guy and he's carrying my future children that worries me._ "Well… the person is—" before he can go on, Ichigo is interrupted by Karin.

"Quick question, and don't take this the wrong way but, is the person female… or male?"

Ichigo could almost feel Karin's eyes burning into his as if reading his mind. If he answers this question then he will not only say the truth that he's with a man, but he will also be telling the truth of who his partner is. And Karin being the smart girl she is will probably figure it out before he even says the name of his partner. The thoughts of being rejected came back to him but he needs to push through and tell them. It's better to try than to never try.

Glancing over to Ichigo, Uryū could see that he was having an inwardly battle between his thoughts. He doesn't blame him; it's not simple telling someone you're in a relationship with a man, let alone a man who is pregnant. I mean, they're both guys who know each other for a long time and have been in a more or less relationship of pure bickering mix in with a sort of rivalry that he himself has tagged on them since they met. He wouldn't blame the two girls if they see so many dysfunctional things about them. They are two very different individuals who just finally seemed to have found common ground and took a step ahead of what the norm was. Uryū will never say it out loud but he doesn't see anything wrong with their relationship, though it is frowned upon in the eyes of many people, he likes to have someone near him who he knows won't disappear.

Noticing the tense atmosphere in the room, Ichigo clears his throat and feels Uryū move his hand over his own and rest it upon his, gently rubbing his thumb over his knuckles. He looks at Uryū from the corner of his eyes and catches his sapphire eyes in his own and reads them like a lover who has know their partner all their life.

_I'm ready._

Moving his gaze back towards the girls, he finally says what he has been meaning to say. "Karin, Yuzu… I'm in a relationship with a male." He sees that Yuzu is shocked as her eyes grow wide and sees that Karin was a bit caught off guard but her eyes quickly compose themselves and goes back to looking at him. Licking his dry lips, he swallows a lump at his throat and continues, no longer finding in himself able to lie to his sisters about something so life changing. "That person is my… boyfriend and I adore him very much." Ichigo has never felt so nervous in his life but he couldn't continue much longer due to the dryness of his mouth and his heart beating drastically in his chest that he was sure could be heard in the now silent room.

No longer willing to let Ichigo do all the talking, Uryū decides that he owes it to Ichigo's courage to have said that much. He will no longer let him take all the heat. Raising his eyes to the two girls that were looking at Ichigo, he gains their attention as he begins to speak his own truth. "I-I'm his boyfriend."

Both girls seem speechless at what they just heard. Yuzu looks from Ichigo to Uryū and then back again. She doesn't know how to act since she has never been in a situation like this but seeing her older brother's face in distraught and Uryū's face of woefulness. She knows that she doesn't like it and that's good enough for her to tell them how she feels. "O-onii-chan," that gains Ichigo's attention as he looks hopefully towards her. "I don't want onii-chan or his friend sad. I-if onii-chan is happy how he is, then I'm happy, too," sincerity in her voice as she offers a small smile on her part.

Ichigo is glad that Yuzu is okay with them but now that he turns his gaze over to Karin, he's not so certain anymore. Karin looks to be in thought as she still seems to be taking it all in. Now Ichigo once again begins to worry, he likes that Yuzu is understandable and will support his relationship, but what Ichigo was really looking for was for the two girls to accept them. If Karin doesn't then it's the same as not having both their understanding and support.

Karin looks down at the table and then brings her gaze up towards the two boys who are waiting for her decision. "Ichi-nii, I don't need to understand how you and polite boy came to be, but it's your decision." She lets out a sigh and looks off to the side. "What I'm trying to say is, whatever you see is good for you then its good enough for me, too. You can make your own decisions."

_Did she just say she's okay with my relationship with Ishida?_ "K-Karin, are you and Yuzu both okay with this—with me being with a guy?"

Yuzu nods her head and then Karin gives a slight nod of her own head after letting out a sigh. Then both girls are enveloped in a hug from Ichigo as he holds them tightly. The two girls try to push him away so that they could breathe but Ichigo only lightens his hold to still have them in an embrace. "I'm glad both of you didn't reject us."

Karin pushes Ichigo's face away and says, "Reject? Ichi-nii, we're your sisters. We're not going to reject you for liking someone."

"Yeah, Karin-chan has a point, onii-chan!"

Uryū finally releases a breath of air he was holding in and smiles at the three siblings. _The Kurosaki family really is filled with great people. I'm glad to be a part of such a wonderful, loving family. Our children will surely have good ethics._

Ichigo pulls away from the hug and walks over to Uryū, sitting back down on his chair to grasp his hand in his. Uryū pushes his glasses up as he feels his face heat up. He then brings him to tight hug and whispers in his ear, "They accept us." And instantly Uryū brings his own arms up to embrace Ichigo. Pulling away, Ichigo holds onto his hand and stands up. "I'm going to my room. We'll be right back." He leads Uryū up the stairs once he departs from his sisters.

Pushing his door open, Ichigo looks around which got Uryū wondering what he was doing. "Kurosaki, what are you searching for?" Ichigo kept looking around and then walks over to his closet.

"Just something I know should be here." He slides the door open to see a familiar lion plushy sleeping away. "Aha! I knew he would be here! Ugh, and he has on a dress, must be Yuzu's work."

The Quincy looks at the work Yuzu did on the lion and compliments it. "She has a good eye for quality. Her sewing is quite remarkable."

Making a face of disgust towards the plushy, the Shinigami picks it up and starts twirling him around in the air by his arm. "I swear you and Yuzu will get along just great."

"Ahhhhh!"

Setting the lion back down on the closet, he wobbles from one foot to the other, trying to regain some of his senses. Shaking his head, Kon angrily says, "What's the big ide—" his voice falters as he stares to the person who caused his dizziness. "I-Ichigo! I havn't seen you in a long time! And here I thought you forgot about your old pal and you even brought four-eyes with you!"

Not liking being insulted by the stuffed animal, Uryū reaches out to a string on the dress that is loose and begins to pull it. Kon twirls around as he's being set free from the dress. _I forgot how rude this damn stuffed lion could be! I'll make sure to make him another of my own designs just to spite him._

Again, Kon is wobbling as he tries to regain his vision. "Uhhhhh, what did I do to deserve this…" Kon shakes his head and looks over to the Quincy. Pointing a small paw towards him, he opens his mouth but when his eyes land on Ichigo's and Uryū's hands intertwine, he completely loses his voice and train of thought. Finally looking back and forward on their clasped hands, he begins to really scream. "What is going on!"

"Ugh, I shouldn't have even bothered," says an annoyed Ichigo. He sees Kon trying to form sentences through his weird gestures of what he could see were his paws flaring around like crazy. "Oi, Kon—"

"I can't believe my eyes and here I thought you hated Quincy boy!"

Eyebrow twitching in irritation for not being able to get a say in, he squishes the lion with his free hand over his head and keeps him down. "Will you shut up and listen!"

"Y-yes, sir."

"Good. Now look, I just came here to see how you were doing—"

"Horrible."

"And decided to take you with us."

Both Kon and Uryū look at Ichigo like he has gone crazy.

Kon begins to tear up and says, "R-really? You missed me that much?"

"Not really." Kon deflates back down into the closet. "I just have an uneasy feeling with you being here with Yuzu and worry you'll blow your cover. It's a miracle you were able to last this long without here noticing anything."

Uryū looks over to Ichigo with an annoyed look on his face. "Are we really going to take him with us? He does seem to like it here; I would hate to take him away from Yuzu-chan's marvelous work."

Kon perks up when he heard that. "Please take me with you!" Kon jumps up from the closet and hangs from Ichigo's scowling face. "I promise to be very good. Just don't let your sister put me in another dress!"

"Tch, fine, just get off."

The stuffed lion jumps back down and looks glad to finally be able to leave the hands of the girl who has been dressing him up. "I'm finally free!"

Ichigo looks over to Uryū and says, "Can you sew him into some sort of back pack thingy?"

"Ahhhh!"

Pushing his glasses up, Uryū looks at the stuffed lion who looks like he's about to bolt out of there. "Of course." And as Kon tries to jump from the closet, Uryū grabs him and holds him down on the desk that belongs to Ichigo. "He's moving too much; grab my sewing kit in my pocket." And Ichigo does just that and places it next to the flaring lion. After a couple of minutes of lion versus sewing needle, Uryū moves away from the desk and shows a new modified Kon.

Ichigo grins and grabs Kon. "Perfect!"

Uryū raises one eyebrow as he looks over to Ichigo. "Why did you want him like that in the first place?"

Opening up a zipper in Kon's stomach, Ichigo says, "I need him for something." Leaving it at that and not telling Uryū anymore of why he wanted Kon to be modified in such a way that he resembled a small little back pack. "Huh, it's still pretty early; did you want to go somewhere?"

"Actually I wanted to go to the bookstore."

Ichigo nods his head and both soon exit the room with Kon in his hand. They make it down the stairs and see that Yuzu and Karin are watching some show on the television.

"Oi, we're heading out."

Yuzu turns around and looks sad. "But onii-chan just got here! You're not leaving so soon, are you?"

Walking over to the two sisters in the couch, Ichigo shakes his head. "We'll be back later." But before he could take a step away from his position, Ichigo turns back towards them and asks, "I haven't seen the old man, do you guys know where he is?"

Karin doesn't look away from the television as she replies. "He left early in the morning. He didn't say where he was going but he'll probably be back later in the day. It's weird though; he's never usually around nowadays. I guess it's because we can stay by ourselves now, or something."

Nodding, Ichigo walks over to the front door. "I guess we'll see him later, then."Ichigo gives a slight wave with his hand and opens the door. "Bye."

Karin gives a slight wave without looking away while Yuzu waves more enthusiastically.

Both Ichigo and Uryū exit the house and begin walking towards the road. Ichigo is the first to speak as they keep walking. "Well, that went better than I thought it would. But still…"

Uryū glances over to Ichigo, knowing exactly what he was going to say. "We haven't told them about the other _thing_," placing emphasis on the last word.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Ichigo wonders how they could even bring _that_ up. "It's probably best if we don't say anything yet. I mean Karin would somewhat understand but Yuzu… she'll just get confused and wonder how such a thing is possible."

Kon overhears the conversation from where Ichigo has him. "What are you two talking about?"

"Don't worry about it, Kon. Just shut up and don't talk. Back packs aren't supposed to talk and people will get suspicious if you keep doing it."

The plushy huffs and crosses his arms. "Fine, but I'll get to the bottom of your secret-ness."

The Quincy looks over to Ichigo still not seeing why Ichigo would want to have such a rude lion with them. "Are we _really_ going to keep him? I rather not have him around more than we need him."

Ichigo stuffs his hands in his pockets. "Don't worry. I'm just glad that Yuzu and Karin didn't disapprove of us."

Giving a slight smile over to the Shinigami, Uryū says, "Yeah, we got off lucky with you having such an understanding family." _I had always wanted a family. A _complete_ family. Heh, I never thought in my wildest imaginations that I would get that from Kurosaki Ichigo._

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for not updating soon, I got sidetracked with other things but I was still able to finish this chapter. Hope you enjoy it!**

**Review Response: **

**Nano: Hope you enjoy this chapter and not take so long in the next one. Thanks for the review.**

**The Animal Monster: Thank you for the compliments, they keep me smiling all day!**

**Gemini24: Thank you again for the compliments and hope this chapter is enjoyable for you. I suspect that Yuzu still doesn't know about his Shinigami job unlike Karin. Ichigo's behavior in the shower will be later explained in another chapter. The OC's… I really just like giving them attitude and having them somewhat conflicted. I really didn't want them to be like some united team, more like a team that understands what their goal is. Not much on having a secret for them, just write how you want an OC, that's what I do. Hmm, it's not **_**really**_** German, but it's close. **

**Eva Galana: I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. I'm also glad I got you considering this pairing a bit more. Yeah, I know how some people in the real world still dislike gays and how far some are willing to go which is something I show through my OC's. I know what you mean with Rukia being a 'china doll', I once wondered the same thing but I really like this paring for many reasons. Their storyline will be somewhat emotional to say the least. Also, I like to thank you on the advice that you gave, I really never gave much thought to what past tense and present tense really was. Although I think I got an idea on what it is know, so feel free to correct me anywhere in the chapter if you think I got something wrong, I don't mind. Ichigo, even though he does declare he loves Uryū, is still a teenage boy who is still somewhat unsure on where he stands were Uryū since they don't talk much about their feelings and what-not. This chapter is mainly the declaration on how far he's willing to **_**show**_** Uryū how much he's willing to commit to their relationship. Thank you for the review and hope you keep enjoying it.**

**Cammy: Thank you for the review and your compliment on the chapter.**

**Vivora: Hope you like this chapter!**

**shionch: Thank you for enjoying the chapter and hope you enjoy the reactions from Karin and Yuzu. The body water is merely the body water in people's body. That's how Hiromi was able to search out the others since they hid their reiatsu. Mikio will later be explained as to why he doesn't like Quincy's so much, as to your theory, you're mostly going in a wrong direction with it. Although I do see how you were able to come up with this. **

**Reina De La Noche: I hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you have anything you need to say about the chapter then its okay with me, as long as you see something wrong then I don't mind the comment. I'm glad you're willing to wait for an update since I tend to take my time on them since I have so much other to worry about then just writing. Woo, if I ask my sister for any problems in the chapter she'll just chunk a bear at me.**

**Substitute Quincy: Believe me, I need more then luck when you live with people who like to constantly ask me for many things. I hope you enjoy this chapter, though.**

**Haddrell: My pup is more settled down now, although he is a handful. I like that you enjoy the Ichigo and Uryū parts of the story. Of course it is mainly about them and all the troubles that are to come when you have a couple of twins in a male Quincy body. I really don't see the sister's of Ichigo being all that negative towards him since they are his family and wouldn't want him to be sad for not accept him for who he wants to be with, though, I would think that it would be nerve-racking to have to tell someone that you're with the same gender as yourself. I tend to keep Uryū's loneliness around since he's someone that really has not felt what is to have people be a part of a family which is really a concept here since he is going to have one of his own. It would take some time for one to understand that they're not alone anymore and that he could place his trust in his partner to know that he'll always be there. Thanks so much for reviewing and hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Please review! **


	29. Patience Is A Virtue

**A/N: Please read the A/N in the bottom.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Patience Is A Virtue<p>

Mikio was hurrying to the nearest location to where he planted one of his trees. A frown firmly placed on his face as he remembers the words that Hiromi had told him. Not wanting to be left being nothing but dead weight, he needs to remind everyone that he is still doing his duty and that he is still very much present. Nothing would please him more than to show how humans really are sinners and that _those_ are the ones that need to be punished.

The moment he arrives to one of his trees that looks nothing more than any other ordinary tree, Mikio begins to reach out with a glowing palm. Right before he is about to touch his tree, a hand comes out of nowhere and grabs his wrist in a tight grip. "Uh!" he turns his head to the side and sees Kioshi with an emotionless expression on his face. _What the—_

"You shouldn't make rash decisions, Mikio."

They both stare at each other until Mikio shook off his hand form Kioshi's grip. "I'm only doing my duty, unlike you."

Kioshi closes his eyes and turns his head to the side. "Duty? You fool, don't you see if you set up a riot then you will only attract attention." Mikio glares at him as he continues to talk. "Until we hear news on how the other three in Soul Society are doing I suggest you stay put." He turns around and has his back facing Mikio. "Patience, dear Mikio, is a virtue. Keep that in mind next time you want to do something so rash."

In an instant Kioshi disappears from his sight and Mikio can only stand and watch at what took place couple of moments ago. _Patience, huh?_ He turns his gaze up towards the sky and sees the clouds as they move. _I can't wait to see this plan out._

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><p>Kon watches as Uryū walks away to the other side of the street as he heads into a book store while he and Ichigo head the opposite direction. <em>Hmm, why isn't Ichigo going with him? <em>"Ichi—"

"Don't talk to me, Kon. We're in the middle of the street." Replies Ichigo in a low tone so that only Kon could hear him over everything else going around them.

The plushy huffs and remains quiet, until he enters a normal looking store that Ichigo had for some reason decided to enter. He looks around in wonder but is quickly taken out of his trance as Ichigo begins walking around once again.

After a couple of minutes of being taken around isles, Ichigo finally must have bought what he wanted since he was at the cash register. Kon has no idea what he could have bough but the next thing he knew was that he was in Ichigo's grip as he began to unzip his front pouch open. Whatever the Shinigami had decided to get was now safely secured in his pouch with the bag covering it, making it hard for Kon to see what it was. "What the—"

"Don't ask questions and whatever you do, don't open your pouch." Warns Ichigo as he swung the plushy back over his shoulders.

After adjusting Kon on his shoulders, Ichigo began to retrace his steps to that book store where he last left Uryū. _I wonder why Ishida would want to buy a book. Guess I'll figure it out later._ Looking around the streets before he crosses, he sees Uryū already coming out of the book store with a bag in his hand. When the streets clear up from traffic, Ichigo makes his way over to the Quincy.

Uryū looks Ichigo over and doesn't see any sort of purchase. "Did you buy something or were you just wandering around?"

Ichigo gave him a sheepish grin. "Just looking, and if you're done here, why don't we head somewhere else. I really don't want to go home yet."

The Quincy shrugs and soon they are both walking around the streets with no particular destination in mind. Ichigo has his hands inside his pants pockets while Uryū is holding onto his bag with one hand. After walking around for awhile, they both decide to head towards the park. Once they make it, Ichigo and Uryū sit down on a vacant bench.

"So, what kind of book did you buy?" asks Ichigo as he looks over to Uryū.

"Just something to give me more information about pregnancies," he takes out the book from his bag and shows it to Ichigo. He raises a single eyebrow as he says, "Even though it's somehow… different, it should be useful since I tend to have the same symptoms any other woman would have."

Eyeing the book, Ichigo reaches out and grabs it. "Yeah, but it should help. Does it say anything about pregnancies with twins?" he says this as he flips through pages randomly.

Nodding his head, Uryū grabs the book back from Ichigo before he tears a page while he is randomly flipping through them. "That's why I got this book specifically on that. It should tell about everything there is to know about twin pregnancies and how long it should be for someone to begin to show." Uryū frowns down at the book as he squeezes it in his hands. "When I start to show…" his voice gets low as if he is frighten at what he is about to say. "I-I will no longer be able to go out after Hollows—"

"Of course you're not going after Hollows," interrupts Ichigo as he has his gaze set on the surprised Quincy. "And don't even think about going after them now. I can handle them by myself."

The raven-haired boy frowns over to Ichigo as he begins to state his own defense. "I didn't mean now, Kurosaki. What I meant is when I start to show, I don't think I'll be harming—"

"Ishida."

Uryū is about to open his mouth again but Ichigo quickly covers it with his palm. Looking at him seriously which makes Uryū stop anymore protest he has at the moment as he places his hands back down towards the book at his lap.

"Look, we don't know how this even works. Maybe you won't break a sweat and won't exert yourself." Ichigo then looks down as he imagines any danger that could come to Uryū, fearful at the thought. "Or maybe you could get caught off guard and I can't be there to help you. I really… don't want to take any chances here. I don't want to lose something so miraculous that just came out of nowhere. So just… don't do anything drastic, please."

Uryū's eyes were wide as he hears all this come from the redhead, but most of all, he is caught off guard in how Ichigo says his words, filled with so many emotions that he couldn't even begin to explain. His eyes grow soft in understanding but how can he simply give up his way of life. He's been trained since a boy by his grandfather and now he just needs to accept… giving it all up. He is a Quincy. A proud Quincy who never backs down from anyone, no matter how the situation looks. But… now he's not just risking his own body but also the young bodies of his two unborn infants. This was really making him think more about a situation he didn't want to talk about at the moment, at least, not now.

Shaking his head, he turns to look away from Ichigo, not wanting to stare him in the eyes. "Let's not talk about this right now. I haven't sensed any Hollows for quite some time now, no point in over thinking about it."

From all the time Ichigo has known Uryū, he could instantly decipher his words into: I don't want to talk about it. And the only thing he could do at the moment is nod, besides; Uryū did have a point, no use in over thinking about something that hasn't happened… yet. Either way, he just hopes that when the time comes, Uryū will back down and let him take care of it. No matter how much he knows what the answer will be when it actually does occur. They just need to stick together and everything will solve itself. He needs to believe in himself, and in Uryū's judgment.

"Hm, that's strange."

Uryū turns his head to look back at the Shinigami. "What is?"

Ichigo turns his head to look at his back. "Kon hasn't said a word. I was starting to think he somehow came loose and fell off somewhere." He turns completely to show Uryū the plushy that was still hanging off his back.

Giving the plushy a bored expression, Uryū merely swipes at his nose. "Heh, the annoying toy actually fell asleep, and here I thought he was going to be annoying the whole time."

Kon is snoozing away and merely twitches a bit when he felt Uryū touch his nose.

Ichigo stands up from the bench and looks up into the sky, shielding his eyes from the blinding sun with his hand. "Must have gotten tired as we were walking around, anyway, you want to head back or stay awhile out here?"

Thinking about whether to stay a bit longer around Karakura or heading back to the Kurosaki residence, Uryū just stands up and decides the only thing he wants at the moment. "Head back to the Kurosaki Clinic; I want to read up on this book for a while."

"All right then."

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><p>It must have been an hour, no, probably more. But time didn't matter nor was it important to Takeshi. For being a bit hot-headed, Takeshi usually gets his work done, no matter how others think of him as rash or reckless. He also usually doesn't get sidetracked by anything or anyone. So, why has he finally been stuck in one place for more than he needs to be? His scowl is so deep and his teeth are bare as he looks on to a certain Taichou that was able to get his attention. And he loathes that.<p>

The Taichou to him looks nothing more than a small child, but he disregards that and looks past his age and his appearance. It didn't matter if he was small, big, smart, stupid, or even a Taichou, all that matters is that he could feel a tingly sensation coming from him; a sensation that only _he_ will ever be able to emit, not this Taichou or anyone else.

Though the Taichou couldn't see him, nor sense him, which is one of the reasons he is becoming pissed, the need to walk up to him and finish him is so strong that before he knows it, Takeshi is apprehended from jumping from the secure location of the tree he is crouching on.

Masaru.

The damn bastard is the only thing keeping him in place as he is holding the back of his neck tightly with one hand. Takeshi couldn't see his eyes, but he can feel them glaring at him with such intensity that it would make anyone quiver in fear, the thing is, he doesn't quiver. Everyone else quivers for him. Having his neck squeezed again in that tight grip, Takeshi finally gets the message and, reluctantly, he turns away and disappears from the tree with Masaru.

They were halfway finish with their scouting of Soul Society and already Takeshi was sick of the place. Everything about it stood out to him as _disgusting_. Shinigami are beings that _help_. Help, that word is weak, and words in the end don't mean anything. If there is one thing that Takeshi has learned and kept to himself all this time, is that no one, _no one_, is out there watching over anyone, waiting to help. It is his universal truth and he has long come to an acceptance of this.

Landing near a deserted area of the Seireitei, Takeshi's eyes sweep through the location and couldn't figure out why they have come to a stop here. "Why are we here?" he waits for Masaru to inform him only to see that he was gone. "Tch, bastard," he walks over to a rock that is big enough to settle down and takes a seat. All the while, his mind wanders back to the Taichou he was observing earlier on. Supporting his face with his fist, he begins to scowl and could feel anger slowly coming over him. _Damn it… how… how could it be possible for anyone else to even have such power! No one knows how it feels to be drowned under the many ripples and crashing waves… no one. Except for one, except for one! _

Closing his eyes and taking a quick breather to calm down his anger, Takeshi shakes his head and soon begins to grin. "I can't wait to hear him scream."

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><p>Masaru soon lands next to Norio as they both concentrate to one certain location. "Hm, you're right, although we shouldn't worry ourselves with him yet. Remember that we are only here to scout out any information valuable to the Verlossing. I highly doubt that even he can sense us." Masaru looks over to Norio. "So, what information have you gathered?"<p>

Norio takes a hesitant pause and doesn't turn to look at Masaru as he replies to him. "Shinigami each have their own zanpakutō with their own unique ability. It seems to vary from who the person is. It also seems that not everyone has a long zanpakutō like the orange head boy that Mikio described to us."

Nodding, Masaru turns his head to look back at the building not too far from his reach. "I… see. So Shinigami have different abilities depending on who they are. Yes, that does seem to make sense. Either way, we still don't know _what_ their abilities could be if we don't see them in action." He shakes his head in displeasure. "Ugh, I'm beginning to sound like Takeshi, but if we want to see this _power_ I believe we need to… set a trap so that we can see first-hand what we are dealing with," straightening his coat out, Masaru turns and begins to walk away, Norio in tow.

"It is time to separate the weak from the strong and the interesting from the tedious."

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><p>Lying on his back, Takeshi has his hands supporting his head, eyes tightly shut while he crosses his legs up in the air, tapping them to a nonexistent tune. Soon, after waiting for quite a while, he begins to hum a tune to a song that he heard a long time ago. It was the only song that pops into his head as he knows it by heart since he was a child.<p>

"_Alle eendjes zwemmen in het water,  
>Falderal de riere,<br>Falderal de rare  
>Alle eendjes zwemmen in het water,<br>Fal de ral de ral de ra."_

The moment he stops singing his song, Masaru and Norio land a couple feet from him, he grins but stays where he's at. "About damn time, I was beginning to get bored, anything interesting?"

"We're going to need to lure the Shinigami into a trap."

When Takeshi hears that coming out of Masaru's voice, his tapping stops and his grin begins to widen even more. "Oh and what for? I thought you said not to get caught by any means necessary. What could have changed your mind, I wonder?"

Masaru's brows draw together as he could hear the haughtiness in Takeshi's voice. "I didn't mean _we_ had to do anything, what I meant was to set a trap in which the Shinigami must have to be lead to a situation in which they show us their power, that is all. _We_ merely have to find the perfect trap and let everything else unfold from there. Understood, Takeshi?"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you." Takeshi stands up and places his hands on his hips. "So, I'm guessing I'm the bait for this little _set up_." Masaru nods and that made him grin all the more. "Good."

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><p>The moment Ichigo and Uryū enter his home, both notices that the twins were sleeping on the couch with both their heads reclining against each other; the television still on some channel with the volume low, showing a man trying to get contestants to get in front of the camera and try to make fools of themselves for money.<p>

Shaking his head at the show, Ichigo makes his way over to the television and turns it off. He then turns to looks over to Uryū. "Why don't you go to my room and I'll take them up to their room."

Uryū only complies by turning away from the redhead to begin his march up the stairs.

Ichigo hoists Yuzu up first in his arms, getting her into a bridal position and begins to make his way up the stairs with the sleeping teen in his arms. Once he makes it into the room of the girl's, he settles Yuzu down on her bed and returns back to the couch to retrieve Karin. After settling both girls in their own bed, he closes the door and walks over to his own room.

Turning the knob of his door, Ichigo is not expecting what he saw. Uryū is lying down on his bed and has his book, which he guess he was supporting in front of his face as it was now resting on his face lying lifeless and wide open on some page. Plucking the book from his face, he sees that Uryū is in fact asleep. _Was he really _that _tired?_ The redhead places the book on his desk and runs his hand through his hair, letting out a sigh.

Looking down at Uryū, Ichigo lets a small smile come to his face before he removes Kon from his back and unzips his small pouch. He grabs the bag and hides it under his bed for another time, soon after he takes Kon and opens his small closet and settles him in there. Letting out another sigh, he soon realizes that he's the only one awake in the house while everyone is taking their afternoon nap. "Great, now what?" the redhead looks up at his ceiling and then decides to just leave the room and watch some TV. But before he can do so, he hears a small whimper come from the Quincy and that instantly gathers his attention. Walking over and settling down on his knees next to his bed, Ichigo moves a single strand of stray hair from his face, placing it behind his ear.

The Shinigami watches as Uryū sleeps and on occasions, shifting his head from side to side. Ichigo's eyes soon travels from his face downwards to his stomach where his shirt rode up a bit, showing his pale skin under. Softly with one hand, he begins to push the shirt up more until it's halfway up his chest. The moment his eyes land on the bare stomach, he can't stop the smile that is coming onto his face. Slowly, the Shinigami moves his face closer to Uryū's stomach and carefully places his ear to rest where he would guess his twins were. He doesn't need to hear anything nor feel anything, the sensation of the two is enough for him to know that his children are somewhere in there, growing. Ichigo closes his eyes as he begins to drift away until he feels Uryū stir under him. Pulling back he looks over to the Quincy who is slowly fluttering his eyes open.

"K-Kurosaki? What are… you doing?"

Ichigo stands up from the floor and looks down at the raven-haired boy. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

Uryū shakes his head and removes his glasses as he settles them next to the pillow. "No, but it would seem like you were having fun down there, care to explain what you were doing?"

"Just checking something, what, you thought I was up to something perverted?" Ichigo then moves so that he's near Uryū and begins to settle himself on the bed. Uryū moves away as to give him more room on such a tiny space they have. "Why are you so tired, anyway?"

Once Uryū settles himself until he's practically next to the wall, he turns his head to look over to Ichigo. "You did look kind of suspicious, and anyway, this is normal, from what I read it seems that many women get tired due to having another life inside them, worse for me since I have _two_ not one."

"Oh, but aren't you suppose to feel that a bit more into the pregnancy. I mean, you're like just in your first week. Are you sure you're eating right?"

The Quincy groans at all the questions Ichigo is asking him. "Kurosaki, if you don't shut up I'm going to push you off of the bed. And for your information, it doesn't matter how long I am into this pregnancy, it's not like I can control my body and what it wants. Also, I happen to be eating well, so stop with the questions and let me rest."

The room soon grows silent until Ichigo props himself on his elbow to look down at the Quincy. "Have you thought of any names yet?"

Again, Uryū groans and shifts his head to the side, letting his hair cover his face that wasn't hiding in the pillow. "Don't you think that it's a bit too early to be worrying about that stuff?"

Ichigo brings his body closer to Uryū's and settles his head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. "Yeah, but I can't wait." He closes his eyes and wonders if Uryū will reply to his eagerness.

After a moment of silence, Uryū replies. "Kurosaki, have you _ever_ heard the term: Patience is a virtue, in your life?"

"Hmph, it's a stupid saying."

Holding back the urge to chuckle, the Quincy merely pokes Ichigo's forearm. "True, but something's are worth waiting for, hence, the meaning of the saying. Those who wait have many good things coming for them on the long run, now, either go away or let me rest." Making himself comfortable on his side, Uryū begins to feel a stirring on the other side of the bed. He soon feels Ichigo wrap his arms around his body. _This will all be worth it._

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><p><em>I wonder how long I will have to wait. How long will it take Soul Society to try to contact me? Patience, I am running out off, time keeps ticking but yet all I can do is wait. I have a suspicious feeling that whatever is out there is not relaxing, though, more like planning their next move. <em>

Byakuya is standing outside the balcony of the apartment and can only see the birds fly away into the unknown. The atmosphere is nothing of suspicious since it seems to be a relaxing day to go out and hang out with your friends. But if you look beyond all the simplicity of the veil, you can definitely see that there is something brewing beyond the horizon of Karakura Town.

The trees and the clouds seem to be swaying more than they need to, almost as if warning of an upcoming danger. None of this can be put off or even call miniscule since they are great factors in what could come to be. A great unknown, indeed.

Shifting his grey emotionless eyes from the sky to a group that looks like a bunch of delinquents, he narrows his eyes on them and steadily follows them. The group seems to be going around and threatening people as they push them away and grab them by their collar. _What violent humans. _Seeing enough of this, Byakuya steps away from the balcony and starts to head inside. He slides the screen close and closes his eyes for a moment. _How long do I have before someone asks for when I am going back to Soul Society? If Rukia doesn't get back to her senses, I fear that neither of us can return. Returning now will only cause unease within the Gotei 13. _Byakuya moves his gaze towards the bedroom. _I cannot leave and I cannot stay, but I have no choice. No one can see Rukia in such a state._

He walks over to the room and enters it, his gaze instantly landing on the sleeping girl. "Rukia…" his gaze turns into one of sadness as he sees the dark-haired girl unmoving. She has been like this since she fell into sleep from the last time they communicated. Byakuya walks over to the chair he has come to see as his bed and sits on it. Keeping a steady gaze on Rukia, waiting for a sound, movement, anything. Anything to assure him that she will be okay. _This everlasting wait is unbearable. Although, Rukia, I wonder what you are dreaming about. If only I could reach out and pull you out of this miserable state, I would be the happiest man in the world, Seireitei, and beyond._

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><p><strong>AN: Sorry for such a long update but I fell into a great amount of pain in my abdomen region which has caused me a great deal of struggle with eating and sometimes incapable of moving my body. I needed to go to the doctor and have been bedridden for quite some time. And due to this I was backtracked on my writing and school. Updates might be slow but I hope all of you enjoy this chapter and the more soon to come.**

**Due to my body not wanting to be sitting up any much longer, I will save the review respond for another chapter. **

**All I can say is thank you for the reviews and I'll hopefully have the next chapter up soon, though I do not know when since anything can happen to cause such a struggle in my personal life.**

**Translation of the song: All the Ducklings**

**All the ducklings swim in the water,  
>Falderal de riere,<br>Falderal de rare.  
>All the ducklings swim in the water,<br>Falderal de ral de ra.**

**Please review.**


	30. Capricious

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>Capricious<p>

"Do you intend to stay here any longer?" the white-haired man asks as he takes one last drag from his cigarette and extinguishes it on the ashtray he has holding in his hand.

The room smells of smoke but it didn't bother the dark-haired man who was sitting on a chair with his face lying down on the desk, resting upon his arms for a more comfortable position. He doesn't respond right away to the man which made him think he is asleep.

Grunting, Ryūken walks over to his desk that is in his personal study, and grabs Isshin's hair with a tight grip to pull his head up, the moment he sees the dark-haired man sleeping away, Ryūken's eyebrow twitches with irritation and releases his grip that he has on the man, letting his head fall with much force due to the laws of gravity. Seeing that that didn't wake the other man either, he shakes his head and walks over to his white armchair and sits down.

He crosses one leg over the other and lets his mind wander as he thinks back to the conversation he and Isshin had a couple hours ago.

**When Isshin reaches Ryūken's home, he lifts a hand up to knock on the door but before he could commence the knocking, the door was already being opened by Ishida Ryūken. The white-haired man had a scowl on his face when he saw Isshin.**

"**What do you want?"**

**At first Isshin was surprised that Ryūken would even open the door for him, but was even more surprised that he couldn't find the right words to respond to the question made by the white-haired man.**

**Ryūken narrowed his eyes and moved to open the door some more for Isshin to pass. **

**Taking the invitation, Isshin walked inside the house and made his way to the living room of the man. The house itself was familiar to him since it was nothing new, he could easily find his way around without the help of the other man. Once he found the living room, he took a seat on a white armchair and watched as Ryūken took a seat on another opposite to him. **

**The older Quincy took out a cigarette from a case he had stashed in his coat and pulled one out, lighting it and then taking one simple drag as he released the smoke out from his mouth. He then looked over to Isshin and waited for him to begin speaking. When he didn't, Ryūken let out a small sigh and crossed one leg over the other. "I don't see why you berate yourself in thinking I'm going to have a change of heart about this. When I make a decision I don't go back on it."**

"**You went back on us." Was the simple response made by Isshin as he had his head looking downwards to the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the room.**

**Ryūken's scowled and took another inhale of his cigarette. "That's different."**

**Isshin finally lifted his head up and looked over to the almost calm man, it could be that he was a bit nervous over the last couple of days. Hearing that their son's were in a relationship really did leave a dent and a questioning about where this could leave them. Having their son's being in a relationship and then them being in one was really wrong; no matter how many times one went over it. **

"**So, does that mean you stand by your decision, even if you get in the way of your own son's happiness?"**

**The white-haired man simply closed his eyes as if to think for a moment until he reopened them and gave him his answer. "He's a foolish boy that doesn't even know the meaning of happiness."**

**The sound of fists banging on the armchair echoed throughout the room as Isshin scowled over to Ryūken. "Is that why you don't want to give this relationship up? To not let your son understand what it means to be finally happy."**

**Ryūken wasn't even fazed by the actions or words that the other man was doing. He simply gave him an emotionless stare and let his lips twitch upwards. "Please, Kurosaki, you also don't want to let this relationship go so why try to be the good guy when we both know you're not going to back away from this." He narrowed his eyes over to the scowling man who looked like he was holding back the ache to punch him. "And why should we give something up for mere children who don't even know what they want. They have a long way to go before they could truly understand their feelings for one another. If they do—"**

"**If they do that then they will end up the same way we ended up, right?"**

**A slight hint of surprise came over Ryūken but he quickly got rid of it. "They are nothing like us!" he growled in his deep voice. **

**Shaking his head, Isshin thought otherwise. "You're wrong, if you take either one of them away from the other then you would be making them walk the same line as we did, leaving a great void waiting to be filled by someone else while knowing that you don't want to be with anyone other than the one that made you feel alive. Do you really want that?"**

"**I assume that you don't care about what happens to us, then?"**

**Isshin was pulled out of his righteousness and was left speechless. Ryūken did make a point, it was either them or the happiness of their son's. Could he even let go of the other man who has been with him through thick and thin? They had many wonderful times as well as many unpleasant times but they somehow came back to one another as if they were both each other's own saving grace from a cold world that couldn't even begin to understand them. Letting go of the man meant that he would let his heart shatter, if either of them let go then what would become of them. There would be no more connection between them and was frightened that they would slowly begin to drift away, fading until they forgot one another to believe that it was all a dream, a figment of their imagination.**

**Clenching the armchair like some form of support, Isshin answered the man's question. "I do care. But I also care about what happens to my son, as well."**

**Ryūken extinguished his cigarette on the ashtray beside the chair and gave Isshin a glare so intense that it could make the whole room freeze over. "Well, like I said before, I stand by my decision and won't go back on it. They are merely children who don't know anything, and I can see that even you struggle to see that." He stood up from his seat and straightened his tie. "Now, if you excuse me, I have other business to attend to." Walking past Isshin, he placed his hand on the door knob to lead to another room and said, "I shall know your decision the moment you enter my study." That being said, Ryūken opened the door and left, leaving a confused and conflicted Isshin behind.**

**Ryūken walked into his study and sat on an armchair after he pulled out a book from the many bookshelves in the room. After waiting a couple of minutes, he heard the door creak open and saw Isshin walk in as he peered over the edge of his book. He saw how much the man looked stressed out and his movements were sort of lifeless as he walked over to his desk to take a seat on his chair, but he simply placed that out of his mind and placed his book down to take a cigarette from his coat. Lighting it up, he took an inhale of the cigarette and exhaled the smoke. None of that should matter to him; he had the answer to his unasked question and that was that. He will not let anyone stand in his way on the one thing that could truly make him… feel.**

Ryūken releases a sigh as he closes his eyes. _It's either them or us. I won't go back on my decision. Unlike Kurosaki, I am not capricious; I merely state everything up front and say what I mean. Is that wrong?_

* * *

><p>Takeshi is walking through a thick forest with a grin firmly on his face. He always looks forward for any type of challenge, especially since he needs to kill off some of his boredom from all the scouting out he was doing. He dislikes having to do miniscule jobs that don't offer him any excitement whatsoever and he expected that by coming here he will find some sort of ignition that would set him off. But so far he found no such thing. If he has to set the whole Soul Society in alert then that's what he'll do. Nothing excites him more than seeing the faces of panic running around like lost animals.<p>

Once Takeshi finds himself in a remote area, he begins to look to his right, then his left, the grin ever present in his face. _Rowdy! Yes, it's time I play with these idiotic Shinigami!_ The moment he hears a howl from a distance, Takeshi smirks and looks over his shoulder. He can see a horde of Hollows coming from that direction, seeing as their territory must have been disturbed due to him invading it with his presence. _Now, let's begin._

Raising one single claw-like hand up, he begins to concentrate his energy and it soon begins to go ablaze with a sapphire appearance. His eyes catch the gleam from his hand and his smirk grows even wider as he sees the first Hollow charging at him.

* * *

><p><em>Damn!<em> Uryū quickly disentangles himself from Ichigo's hold to run to the bathroom. The moment he flings the door open, he makes his way to the toilet and empties out his stomach. He holds tightly to the edge of the bowl with one hand while the other is holding his hair out of the way. When he finishes he flushes the toilet and walks over to the sink and washes his hands, then he looks at his face in the mirror and sees his hair all disheveled and unkempt. Shaking his head, Uryū wets his face with water and then runs his fingers through his hair, pulling it back. _Nobody said this would be easy._

Uryū wipes his hand on a towel and exits the bathroom. As he is making his way back to the bedroom, he can hear a slight sound coming from downstairs. _Strange… is that…_ He turns around and begins to make his way downstairs. The whole living room is dark except for the light emitting from the television that a young dark-haired girl seems to be watching.

He wonders if he should turn around and head back upstairs since he doesn't know how he could hold a conversation with the young girl which most likely would be awkward. But when he is turning back up the stairs, a voice calls out to him.

"I don't bite, Ishida."

His body instantly stiffens but he knows he can't go back to the bedroom. Reluctantly he begins to turn from the stairs and starts to make his way to where the voice was calling from. Uryū sees that Karin is watching some movie but doesn't say anything to disrupt the quietness of the room. He's standing behind the couch and wonders if it would be better to ask permission to take a seat or just stay standing.

Karin lets out an unnoticeable sigh and says, "You can just take a seat, Ishida."

Embarrassment fills Uryū as he takes a seat at the very opposite end of the couch. He moves his hand to push his glasses up until he realizes that he left them in Ichigo's room the moment he went to the bathroom. Slowly he puts his hand back down and settles it over his other hand that is in his lap. The need to fidget with his fingers becomes great as he needs something to do with them now that he knows he can't use them to do anything with. _Now… what?_

The young dark-haired girl is looking from the corner of her eyes and sees Uryū very uncomfortable as he stares down at his hands on his lap like it's the most interesting thing in the room. _Wow, never knew this guy was so shy._ Taking her gaze from him and staring back at the screen in front of her, feigning interest, she says, "I don't get it."

At this, Uryū's head perks up at the young girl's voice. "Don't get what, Karin-chan?"

Karin takes a moment to respond. "I don't get why you're interested in Ichi-nii. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to ruin your guys relationship, I just find it curious as to what was the factor to make either of you guys notice each other. Ichi-nii does happen to be dense."

Uryū took a moment to let this sink in and tries to find a logical explanation for the young girl to understand. He knows that hormones wouldn't be one—although it did help stimulate other things—and feelings—well there were always there. But knowing the exact moment they began to develop is something he can't seem to pin point. To him, Ichigo always seemed like a mystery, he could even picture himself—in some way—a bit like the redhead, even though he would never say it out loud. The young man really did catch his eye, but not because the way that he looks, but the way that he acts, so much emotion and passion, how could someone not see that and admire it? And that's exactly what Uryū did, he first began to admire the redhead until somehow that admiration slowly transformed into something deeper. The loudmouth Shinigami found a place in his heart and he didn't want to fight that off.

Looking down at his hands, Uryū says, "I can't speak for Kurosaki, but for me, I just couldn't find it in me to ignore him. It's like when he walks into a room he simply ignites a light that catches everyone's attention. Kurosaki is an interesting person, but it's who he is that caught my interest. He's such a conflicted person but yet he finds it in him to pull through anything, I find that very… admirable." Uryū then began to smile. "Also, he has a very warm smile."

The young girl really wasn't expecting that. Sure Ichigo has an effect on people but for the guy sitting next to her, he sounds like he's been hiding his feelings for her brother for quite some time now. _His smile? He's seen Ichi-nii's smile? _Looking at Uryū more closely, she can tell that he's not someone who would easily get involve with anyone unless he knew it is for a long time, even forever. _If this guy can make Ichi-nii smile, then there's no doubt in my mind that he feels the same for him._ "You know," Uryū brought his attention over to her, "Ichi-nii doesn't usually smile for any one. You must be really… special to him." _Just like mom._

_Special?_ The Quincy never thought of himself special, except when he was with his grandfather. Now he's special in someone else's eyes, and that makes him happier. "Kurosaki is also special to me." Subconsciously he places his hand on top of his abdomen and finds himself closer to Ichigo than anyone ever will. _It's the little things that make one happy._

Giving a slight smile over to the Quincy, Karin stood up and says, "Well, I should be heading back. Don't want Yuzu to start whining when I don't wake up for school." Uryū gives a slight nod of understanding. She then begins to walk up the stairs and suddenly stops on the second step. "Goodnight, Uryū-kun."

Uryū's head perks up and looks over to see that the girl has already disappeared from the stairs. _Uryū-kun? _"Did she…" a slight warm feeling swells up in Uryū as he feels more at home in the Kurosaki household with each passing second. "Kurosaki…" he breathes out in a slight sigh of happiness.

* * *

><p>"Een, twee, drie… tien. All right, that's good enough." Takeshi began counting off the Hollows that were a bit… unstable as they race uncontrollably around the forest. They were knocking down trees as they left in their rampage, smacking their heads every once in a while with each other and then crashing to some tree that stood in their way.<p>

Takeshi jumps up to a tree branch and watches as his work is complete as the Hollows set off to other locations. _Hopefully this will catch the attention of the Shinigami._ Smirking, he jumps from the tree branch to land on another, following the destructive path that the Hollows left behind in their wake.

When he sees Masaru and Norio, he lands right next to them on a half broken tree branch.

Masaru looks over to Takeshi in annoyance. "And you couldn't get those things to go in a rampage somewhere else?"

Smirking, Takeshi merely shrugs. "Not my problem if you two get caught in the chill of things."

Shaking his head, Masaru looks over to the Hollows who were now miles away from them. "Let's go, we might finally see the Shinigami in action."

All three jump into the air and disappear.

* * *

><p>Uryū gave a slight yawn when the movie ends on the screen. Horror movies were all so boring and pretty much predictable. He rubs his eyes and stands up to turn off the screen, and then he walks up the stairs and opens up Ichigo's bedroom door. When he walks in he sees Ichigo hogging all the bed sheets as he has them all bunched up around him and his body all spread around the bed. <em>I always knew Kurosaki was a bed hog.<em>

The Quincy makes his way over to the bed and pushes Ichigo so that he's right next to the wall, giving him some room to settle himself in. He then proceeds to yank the bed sheets from Ichigo's grip.

"Mmm…"

Hearing the other moan in displeasure, Uryū leans down to Ichigo's ear and begins to blow on it. The redhead shakes his head from side to side which makes Uryū smirk. He then repeats this until Ichigo brings his hand up to smack at the sensation on his ear. This gives Uryū enough time to pull the sheets from Ichigo's grasp, pulling some towards him.

"Wha… what the hell?" Ichigo scratches his ear and opens his eyes to see the blurry figure of Uryū getting comfortable. He then closes them back up and brings the Quincy's body closer to him as he spoons him. "Morning sickness?"

"Yeah." Not a complete lie.

They both stay quiet until Ichigo suddenly gives Uryū's ass a good squeeze.

Eyes widening, Uryū tries to pull his body as far away as possible, but being in a small bed with not enough room is really quite challenging. "K-Kurosaki, what the hell are you doing?"

Ichigo only moans as a response and follows Uryū until his back is once again up against his. "What? I'm just giving you a massage."

Trying to shift away from the wandering hand that is kneading his ass, Uryū says, "Well, stop. My ass does not need massaging." _Although it does feel good… now if he could shift that hand up my back instead of my ass, I won't complain._

"Hmm, how 'bout this," the Shinigami then pushes his hand inside Uryū's shirt as he glides his hand up from his behind to the taut skin in his back. Ichigo begins to massage the skin there and moves it every other minute to another section of his back. Hearing the quiet moans from Uryū gives Ichigo satisfaction and just makes him keep kneading at the Quincy's back. "You like that?"

Uryū replies with a moan and begins to shift his body so that he's lying on his stomach, while Ichigo props himself on his elbow as he keeps one hand under the dark-haired boy's shirt, continuing his ministrations.

This goes on for a while until Ichigo says, "Are you awake?"

The only response he is able to get from the Quincy is soft snores. Ichigo smiles and pulls his shirt back down, shifting his head to the side so that he isn't suffocating on the pillow, to which his grip instantly tightens to as he hugs it. Once he's done that, he slowly gets off of the bed and begins to cover his whole body with the bed sheets, tucking him in. Ichigo then walks over to his desk and grabs his phone that he left there. After going through his contacts, he finds the one he's looking for and begins to call it. _Pick up._

The phone rings once, twice, thrice, until it sends him to voice mail. _Damn!_ He pushes the red button on his phone and settles it back on his desk. _I'm positive now; the old man is avoiding me._ "Where are you?" he softly whispers to nobody. When he hears Uryū moan, he turns to look over to him. _Hm, you have no idea how cute your moans sound._ Ichigo rubs his eyes and gives a exasperated sigh; he knows there's no point in calling someone who is obviously avoiding him for some reason or another. With that in mind, Ichigo walks over to his bed and leans down when he's near Uryū's face. Tucking in a stray lock of hair behind his ear, he gives him a soft kiss on his forehead and heads out of the room.

All Uryū does is shift and moan out a sigh. "… Ichigo…"

* * *

><p>"So… is that it. Are Shinigami that weak or did we give them to high expectations?" Takeshi is not amused as he watches some Shinigami that came out to try to kill off the Hollows after they were set to destroy everything. Perching on a tree branch, he sits on his heels and props his chin with his hand, a bored expression on his face.<p>

Masaru looks over to him for a second then brings his gaze back down to the Shinigami that look like they are having trouble eliminating the Hollows. "These are merely weaklings; the stronger ones are yet to come." _The sheer of numbers doesn't matter if they can be easily tossed aside like mere twigs. No, the stronger ones have a hidden… ability, I know it._ He turns his head to look over to Norio who has his eyes shut. "Keep a look out for any distinguishing Shinigami. We need to analyze as much information as we can for Kenshin-sama."

Norio opens his eyes and looks through his half-lidded eyes to do what Masaru asks. Going over every Shinigami in his sight, he doesn't notice anything of interest. The moment he's about to close them back up a loud voice echoes throughout the forest.

"Grow, Hōzukimaru!"

Norio's eyes are instantly on the man who spoke those words and saw how his sword became a long spear. Both Masaru and Takeshi see this and also keep their eyes on the bald man who charges up to the Hollows, exterminating them like they were nothing.

"Bloom, Fuji Kujaku."

Their eyes soon land on a more elegant fighter oppose to the other bald one. This man with feathers on each side of his face also seems to be taking out the Hollows and standing his ground against them with a sickle blade.

Masaru looks on to the two Shinigami that unleashed their power. _So that's it._ Narrowing his eyes, he disappears from the branch. Takeshi has a wide smirk on his face and quickly follows after Masaru, Norio also doing the same as they soon find themselves miles away from the fighting. They stand in the middle of a grass field and reach into their coats to take out their badges. All three soon begin to glow their own distinctive colors until they are shrouded with the immense light, leaving no trace of their existence behind.

* * *

><p>The moment a jigokuchō comes flying in through the open screen door, it goes off to find Byakuya who is sitting on a chair across from the only bed in the room. Byakuya opens his eyes and reaches out his hand so that the butterfly could land on it. The jigokuchō begins to flap its wings as if conveying a message. When it's finish, it flies away the same way it came in.<p>

Byakuya closes his eyes and tries to comprehend the thoughts in his head, but only one stands out the most. _Our time is up._

He looks over to the sleeping girl and stands up to go near her. The moment he's at the edge of the bed, he drops to his knees and reaches out to touch her forehead as he placed his hand over it. _This is all so confusing._ The Taichou then removes his hand when the young girl moans and lets out a sigh. It almost seems like she isn't in any pain and is just sleeping away for a thousand years to come. Whatever is going on with her, he will not abandon her.

"Rukia?" he says in soft voice, seeing if she could be awoken by mere words. But sadly, after a couple moments of silence, it seems that it didn't reach her. Byakuya has a troubled look on his face and decides to try again, this time shaking her form as he speaks. "Rukia, you must awake."

Rukia groans as someone seems to be trying to disrupt her sleep. But yet she remains motionless to anything and everything in the room. Her features give off complete and utter peace, calmness in her body, but Byakuya sees this as nothing more than a façade that the girl has put up.

Byakuya reaches for her hand, noticing how much smaller it is in his callous hand, and laces their fingers together. He closes his eyes and begins to speak. "Rukia… you must awake, our time here has run out and we must return. If we do not return then they will most likely sent out Shinigami to come and look for us." _Just like I did with you. _

The Taichou again receives no response or any form of understanding from the raven-haired girl. He tightens his hold on the hand and quickly came up with an idea that is most definitely not like him. Opening his eyes and scanning the face of the sleeping beauty, Byakuya decides that she is worth all his efforts to try to keep her safe, no matter the consequences in the near future.

He begins to pull off the sheets from the girls form until they are all bunched up at the end of the bed. Byakuya then stands up and lifts the young girl into his arms, he then walks into the living room and sets her body down on the couch so that he can return and set the bed that was left inhabited by a presence there. When he finishes, he goes back into the living room and lifts Rukia into his arms once again.

One thought merely goes through his head as he exits the room. _If our fate is to be vanished forever, let us vanish together._

* * *

><p>Ryūken straightens out his tie and then places on his coat as he gets ready to go to the hospital and begin his work. Though his back does have an ache for having slept on the chair, he ignores it and exits his master bedroom to check on Isshin who is still in his study.<p>

The moment he enters the room, he notices that the dark-haired man is still sound asleep on top of his desk. Ryūken walks over to Isshin and sees that the man is drooling and gives him one of his infamous glares. Shaking his head Ryūken pulls out a white handkerchief and begins to clean off the saliva that is trailing down to his desk. As he momentarily pulls away, Isshin mumbles incoherent sentences, but for Ryūken, he can instantly decode all the miss match words due to knowing the man for many years. Giving him a gentle look, rarely given to anyone, Ryūken exits the room as he keeps Isshin's words in his mind.

_Ryu-chan… love…_

As the older Quincy is heading out of his home, he instantly senses a familiar reiatsu coming near him. He places on his footwear and opens up his door to see the last person he thought would ever come looking for him.

"What are you doing here?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: It's been quite a while that I've updated something but a couple days after I updated the last chapter I got the flu which was horrible seeing as I hate nasty liquid medication. But now I feel better and more energized to update once again! Thank you to all that send me wonderful 'get well soon reviews'. My sister practically took away all electronics and access to internet while I was sick so I got to read all the reviews just today. So now I want to begin with responding back to the lovely reviews.**

**Review Response:**

**Gemini24: Thank you so much for your concern and hope that I don't have to go through that anymore. And thank you for the compliment on the last chapter. I wouldn't mind reading your 'Gemini Saga' or being your friend in face book. If you want to add me as a friend, go look under "Edaward Nigma" my picture is the same as the one in my profile, and thanks for the review!**

**Nano: Thanks so much for your compliments and your good wishes. **

**Cammy: Thank you for the compliments and your lovely words.**

**Vivora: Thank you for enjoying the chapter and your lovely words.**

**shionch: Kenshin's is more concern for mostly men than woman and that will show later on as the story progresses. And they are not a known species, so no Shinigami, Quincy, or Fullbringer. It's something more different that I created. Thank you for the compliment on the chapter! They are always nice.**

**yurifan: Thank you for your concern and your compliments on the chapter.**

**Reina De La Noche: Thank you for the compliments of the scenes from the chapter. I actually had bits and pieces written before I got horrible sick and was just putting the finishing touches on it before I updated it. Thank you for your good wishes on my health too. **

**Substitute Quincy: Thanks for the compliments on the last chapter. I hope you also enjoy this one as well!**

**Mina Kye: Thank you for the review and I like that you are enjoying this story as much as I enjoy writing it! Hope you enjoy the more chapters to come.**

**Haddrell: I like that you were able to figure out the song that my OC was singing, and thank you for the concern over my health, hopefully I don't have to go through that once again. It is typical of Uryū to research about a subject he is going through and wanted to show that in the chapter. There will be more of Uryū and the concerns of Hollow hunting later on as the story progresses which will mean more conflicts with him and Ichigo; he is a proud Quincy after all. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Dragon77: Thanks so much for the review and compliment!**

**Quick funny story:**

**Thank you guys for all your lovely reviews! Also, to anyone who loves/knows what Kuroshitsuji is, you must know that it came out on dub on 4/3 and being a huge fan that I am (also my sister) we just needed to see it in dub, even though we already watched it. So, when the nearest Best Buy opened up near our home, she quickly went to buy it. Sadly no one had it in stock and she called me to start ranting off on how something advertise could be wrong. Yes, there was an advertisement on Funimation clips on Youtube. So, she then went to the nearest video store, and it still wasn't there! At the time I was still under the weather but I couldn't help laughing at her misfortune. After going to five different stores she finally decides to look it up on Best Buy's website to see that they did have it in stock… now the only problem was that it was like twenty miles away from where she's used to going. She calls me once again and tells me that she's going to the farthest Best Buy I've ever heard off. At first I was worried that she might get lost seeing that she's never traveled that far but when she bought it and came home her face was so pale and she was shaking like a leaf from coming home from such a far away place. She had the bluray box in her hands and started screaming from joy as she ripped the cover off. Now the funny thing about this whole fiasco… they already had the episodes up on the internet… I never told her. **

**Please review. **


	31. Wrath of The Past

**A/N: Quick heads up: The writing format changed because I find it simpler to write this way but if you don't care about that then don't worry about it. Just enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

* * *

><p>Wrath of The Past<p>

Kioshi looked at the young redheaded girl that was shopping in a store to buy food and wondered why she picked such strange types of food. _Certainly not something I have ever mixed… or have come across. _The young girl looked like she was okay with her choice of food and went to check out. When she turned to exit Kioshi was nowhere in sight.

Orihime walked out of the store and looked from side to side as she tried to see if anyone was following her or if it was merely her imagination. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary she began her walk back to her residents.

Looking down from where he was perched at Kioshi kept his gaze on the girl until he found his vision begin to blur. _Ahh… not now!_ Covering his face with the palm of his hand he quickly went back to the tree on where he overlooked the redheaded girl's apartment. The moment he arrived, Kioshi jumped down from the tree and began to rub at his eyes. It felt as if a great irritation was coming over onto his eyes like a stinging sensation. _Damn, I did not think that this would happen so fast._

Being caught up with the sensation over his eyes he didn't see that Orihime was mere feet away from him. The moment Orihime saw the man that hardy left her alone she got a worried expression on her face when she saw him struggling with his eyes, constantly rubbing them as if trying to stop an itch.

She ran over to the man and said, "Are you okay?"

Kioshi merely walked away to have some distance with the girl, not wanting her to see him in such conditions. But when he heard footsteps come near him once again he understood that she won't leave him be. "Go… away." He grunts in an annoyed voice or at least what he thinks would sound like an annoyed voice.

Orihime merely shook her head and followed as the man tried to distant himself from her. "You're in pain… Please, tell me what's wrong."

When Kioshi's back made contact with a wall he slumped down and felt a tremendous pain overwhelm his head and soon lost the ability to be awake anymore.

* * *

><p>The moment Kioshi awoke was the moment he felt something soft under his body. He quickly sat up and in exchange surprised Orihime who was using her healing abilities to try to fix him up, but yet nothing seemed to be healing or be out of the ordinary.<p>

Kioshi grabbed at his face and then moved his hand to cover up his eyes. He shook his head, "You're ability to reject this doesn't work, so stop that this instant." He soon began to feel something beginning to form around his eyes making him clench his palm around his vision.

Orihime sat up from her position on the floor and looked at the man who didn't seem to be letting her understand what was going on. "Then how can I help you?"

The eagerness in the girl's voice made Kioshi cringe but placed it out of his head. Soon, a thought came to him to try to keep the girl away for a bit. "Do you… own any sunglasses I may use?"

"Um, not exactly… but I'll go get some!" she quickly made her way out of the room while Kioshi was left alone.

The moment he heard the door close Kioshi made his way out of the bed and walked to the bathroom, he closed the door and made his way to the mirror. Slowly, he removed his hand that was covering his eyes and saw what he feared come true. His eyes looked more lifeless and wrinkles formed around the edges. He brought a hand up and poked around the outside of his eyes and pulled his eyelid down. The more he saw the more he felt disgusted with his appearance. _Damn, I can't do anything to heal this until I'm at my lab, and I can't abandon my post here—_Kioshi was taken out of his thoughts the moment he heard a door open with a voice accompanying it.

"E-excuse me but I brought you your… sunglasses." Orihime's voice trailed off as she stood outside the closed bathroom door.

Kioshi opened the door with his eyes still covered up.

Orihime walked in and looked at Kioshi who was desperately trying to cover up his eyes from her.

"Thank you." He said after a moment and reached out a hand for her to drop the glasses on while the other still covered up his eyes.

Orihime handed him the sunglasses and said, "They're not really expensive and—"

"Its fine," he interrupted her, "I merely need something to cover my eyes with." Placing the sunglasses over his eyes he drops his head low and tries to stop some heavy panting he had begun while he was in his thoughts. _Soon, soon I will be back in the safety of my lab and have an antidote for this. What a fool I am for not bringing one with me._

Orihime wanted to ask him something but found that she could not speak. _Is this man sick? How can he be bad if a few moments ago he was practically trying to take in as much oxygen as he could? _

After regaining his breath Kioshi brought his gaze over to the young redhead who was still accompanying him in the bathroom. "It is rude to stare."

Orihime blushed at this and felt a bit embarrassed at staring at the man; also it was quite weird to not be able to see his eyes anymore which made her feel even more insecure in his presence. "Sorry."

Kioshi looked at the girl and gestured with his hand for her move. "If I may." The moment the redheaded girl moved to let him pass through he quickly took a glimpse from the corner of his eyes to see worry behind her chocolate pools. He felt a familiar sensation but merely placed it off of his mind. He walked back to the room and took a moment to take a seat on the edge of the bed.

Not too far back, Orihime walked in and saw Kioshi sitting on top of her bed. _He looks sad._ Even though the man wore black all over, to her it looked like he was wearing the color for a whole different reason than some fashion trend. It was like he was the personification of the color black in which he draped himself with.

The man sitting on the edge of the bed felt the eyes of Orihime boring into him. "Yes?" he said in the most composed voice that he could manifest.

"I-I was just wondering… but who are you or what are you?" she wondered if she could get any knowledge from the mysterious man who held some kind of power that not even she was aware of.

Kioshi lifted his head and looked over to Orihime, staring at her for awhile until he said, "I'm the man who has you under my watch, and as to what I am…" he looked away as if he was insulted, "…that's quite rude to ask someone." He stated and hoped that she would stop asking questions that he simply did not want to answer. It was one thing feeling a burning sensation but a whole different one being interrogated by a young girl. Kioshi furrowed his brows, _too young._

Orihime was put off by this and said, "Sorry… is there anything else you need?"

The man whose eyes were now hidden behind dark sunglasses shifted his eyes over to the girl. "You must be a nurse, no?"

This question made Orihime show a look of bewilderment. "Um, no but—"

"Then if you are not something you say you are not, then don't pretend to be that something." His voice took a turn of a cold chilliness and even though he saw Orihime flinch from such harsh words, he didn't bother to sweeten them up.

The redheaded girl began to rub her arm as the atmosphere in the room was nothing but awkwardness and complete silence. She didn't want to bother the man with more questions but the way he was reclining his body on his knees made her ask anyway. "Can I ask you something?"

Kioshi treasured that silence and grew a bit irritated that it was interrupted by more questions from the girl. "… If it's about the same—"

"It's not," interrupted Orihime.

Releasing a small sigh Kioshi gestured for her to go on.

"Why do you wear black?"

For someone who has been watching Orihime for quite a while, Kioshi still finds himself astonished by her words. _This girl is unbelievable._ "What do you want me to say? That I like black or—"

Orihime shook her head. "I know that there's a reason deeper than that. You seem saddened over something and it shows, but you hide it behind everything you drape yourself in." She clenched at her hands and brought them closer to her chest, it almost seemed as if she was trying to protect herself from any attack the man would deliver if he thought she was prying in too much.

Going over the words he heard Orihime say, Kioshi wondered if there was ever a time that he had heard such words ever in his life… or past life. He then comes to a conclusion that he has heard words like—well, the voice behind the words to be more exact. It was the voice and emotion that he caught that reminded him of another woman… a precious woman.

"Black," he started, "is the color of a primordial void and emptiness, but to you it's a color of mourning, is it not?" he lifts his head to look over at the girl; she merely nodded to show that she understood. Kioshi gave a slight nod and continued. "I wear this not because it's my favorite color, and believe me, it's not, but because it's for those reasons that I can rest assure."

"Assure of what?"

"Of everything."

* * *

><p>Ryūken glared at the man in front of him. "What are you doing here?"<p>

The shopkeeper clad in green clothing closed up his fan that he was holding and gave the Quincy a coy smile. "My, is that anyway to talk to an old friend and here I thought I stop by since I was around the neighborhood."

Keeping his face with that same look of distaste, Ryūken said, "Since when were we ever "friends," Urahara?"

Urahara merely took out his fan once again and waved it around. "All right, if you feel like that, but in all seriousness," he gave Ryūken a look under his hat that portrayed no playfulness. "I came to speak to Isshin-san," Ryūken scowled at this. "He _is_ here, right?"

"And why would you think he would be here?"

Smiling over to Ryūken, Urahara crossed his arms. "Well, you do both have interesting history, so I just assumed so," he then ran his eyes over Ryūken. "But I can see that you're already heading out."

Ryūken slammed the door behind him that it echoed throughout the quiet neighborhood. "Yes, unlike you I actually have business to attend to," he walked past the cheerful shopkeeper and said in a low, cold voice, "and if you don't see yourself out then I will make sure to remove you from my premises this instant."

Not being fazed by his threat, Urahara just stood there while Ryūken was making his way over to his car. Looking over his shoulder he called out, "Don't worry! I'll simply wait here until Isshin-san wakes up!"

Hearing the slamming of the door and the car screeching into the drive way was indeed worth coming to see Isshin if the stern Quincy was going to act like some menace. _Now,_ Urahara turned his head to look at the house in front of him, _I guess I should make myself comfortable since I have a feeling this might take a while._ _Though, the moment Kurosaki phoned me was certainly unexpected. _

**Urahara woke to the sound of a phone ringing early in the morning. Letting out a yawn, Urahara rubbed his eyes as he reached the phone. "Hello?"**

"**Urahara."**

"**Hm? Kurosaki? Is everything all right?" he waited for a while until he wondered if Ichigo hanged up on him until the Shinigami finally spoke up.**

"**Yeah, actually I wanted to ask you for a favor."**

Releasing a sigh, Urahara toke off his hat and ran his hand through his blond locks. "How do I get myself into these types of situations? It's one thing having to set up a way for Isshin-san to meet up with Kurosaki but," Urahara formed a wry grin, "dealing with a Quincy such as Ishida-san, well, now that's like a suicide mission." _I hope Kurosaki doesn't ask me to _ever_ confront either of them with the little detail of Ishida-kun's symptoms, especially Ishida-san._

* * *

><p>Ichigo sat on the couch until he decided to lie down and wait for the day to begin. He hid his eyes by covering them with his forearm as he tried to settle what he needed to do. <em>If the old man won't show his face then I'll just catch him off guard. What I need to tell him is something very important to me and I… I at least want <em>someone _of my family to know of this. Now the question is whether Ishida wants me to or not. The last thing I need is for him to be down my throat for a decision that we didn't make together._

Subconsciously, Ichigo began to form a short smile on his face at the thought of Uryū. _I'm going to be a dad. Heh, I guess it still hasn't sunk in yet. I wonder… how did we turn into two guys who wanted to go through university and become doctors to two guys who are waiting for the day that they could hold their children?_ Before he could go deeper into thought, the sound of his sister Yuzu trying to wake Karin distracted him.

The young girl came down the stairs with a slight frown. Sitting up on the couch, Ichigo could tell that Yuzu was mad about something. "Oi, what's wrong?"

Yuzu went into the kitchen and began preparing breakfast as she answered, "Karin-chan was up last night and doesn't want to get out of bed. I already told her that she shouldn't stay up during a school night but she didn't want to listen and now she's tightly wrapped up in the sheets!"

Ichigo has never seen his sister so outraged at something but he could see her point. Standing up and doing a quick stretch, he said, "Do you want me to wake her?"

"That would be nice, onii-chan."

Nodding to his sister who got busy with cooking breakfast, the redhead made his way up the stairs to his sister's room and knocked on the door with soft taps.

"Go away!" came the grunting voice of Karin and hoped that it was enough to keep anyone from coming in to bother her.

Sadly, Ichigo wasn't just anyone as he barged into the room and knocked louder on the door. "Oi, Yuzu asked you to get up, sleepyhead. You should know that you shouldn't be up on a school night by now so up." The only reply he got back was the moaning of Karin as she covered her whole body up in an attempt to ignore her brother and try to get back to sleep. "What the!" Ichigo scowled at his sister's resistance and disobedient ways for not listening to him. So after trying to settle things the nice way, he moved into a more effective solution.

Karin was surprised when she felt someone trying to pull the sheets away from her. Of course, she struggled and pulled the sheets back and then a game of tug-o-war commenced between Ichigo and Karin.

"Ahh! Let go!"

Ichigo continued to pull as he snarled out, "Not until you get up!"

And then suddenly the room was filled with the sound of ripping. More specific, the ripping of the bed sheets as Ichigo stumbled back and Karin fell back into the bed with only half the sheets.

Karin blinked at the tarred up bed sheets until she finally exploded on Ichigo. "Oi! Look what you did to my bed sheets, you jerk!"

Ichigo was taken aback by this and said, "Me! You're the one who started it and you're the one who didn't want to let go in the first place! So don't go blaming the whole thing one me!"

Somehow, between the insults they must have missed the appearance of a certain Quincy who was standing by the door as he tapped his foot impatiently. After being ignored far enough, Uryū's eyebrow twitched and felt a migraine slowly making an appearance. _This is maddening!_ "Do you two mind!" exploded the Quincy in anger. He finally had the attention of both Ichigo and Karin and walked up to the sheets, grabbing the tarred up one from Ichigo and then the other from the bewildered girl, Uryū took out a small sewing case from inside his pants pocket and began placing together the bed sheets. Once he was done, he folded the sheet up and tossed it to Ichigo. "There, now please stop with your insistent shouting." Uryū then turned on his heel and exited the room as if nothing had happened.

"… I'm glad I'm not you, Ichi-nii."

The only reply she got was a grunt.

Uryū walked down the stairs and wondered if they had any aspirin. As Uryū made his way to the kitchen he could see that Yuzu was looking rushed during all the commotion that happened upstairs that she almost dropped the spatula she was holding up.

"Oh, good morning, Ishida-kun! I was about to head up there to tell them to keep it down but I guess you already did that, thank you," said the girl as she went back to concentrating on her cooking. She was still in her sleep wear and looked to be anxious to get into her uniform.

The Quincy merely waved it off. "No thanks is necessary, Yuzu-chan." Uryū's eyebrow twitched when he heard a loud crash upstairs but said nothing of it. Shifting his eyes over to Yuzu, he said, "You know, I could do the cooking while you go change, Yuzu-chan."

Yuzu looked appalled and shook her head. "But you're a guest here, Ishida-kun! It would be rude to let you do the cooking."

He merely gave her a gentle smile and held out his hand for her to give him the spatula. "Don't worry, I don't mind."

Eyeing the hand in front of her with a bit of uncertainty, Yuzu finally decided to hand him the spatula in a very hesitant manner but nonetheless she gave him her approval to finish the breakfast. "Thank you, Ishida-kun." With a small bow she quickly headed up the stairs.

Uryū walked over to the pan and began to turn the eggs that were baking, and merely smiled when he heard Yuzu start scolding her other siblings.

"Onii-chan! Karin-chan! What happened to the room?"

"It's her fault!"

"It's his fault!"

Uryū chuckled as he lowered the fire on the stove. _What a weird morning this turned out to be._

* * *

><p>Ichigo exited his sister's room with a scowl on his face and began to scratch the back of his neck. <em>Tch, I hope all mornings aren't like this one.<em> He walked down the stairs and saw Uryū busy with cooking breakfast which he must have convinced Yuzu to take over while she went to get dressed. An idea then popped into his head as he made his way over to the busy Quincy.

Uryū was turning the eggs when he sensed Ichigo coming from behind. _Does he really think that's going to work?_ He just ignored him for the fun of it and waited for Ichigo to make his childish move. The next thing he knew was that his eyes were covered up and warm breath tickled his neck.

"Guess who?"

"Well, considering that you have morning breath, and is the only one in the household who would try such a thing, I'm going to say, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Tch, smart ass." Ichigo brought his hands from his eyes and placed them on his hips. "I'd be mad if anyone else was doing this to you."

Smirking, Uryū said, "Are you getting possessive, Kurosaki? I'm not some piece of furniture that you could simply have around when convenient, you know."

The Shinigami slid his hands inside Uryū's shirt and began rubbing his thumbs on his sides, stroking that alabaster skin of his. "Who said you were furniture? I think more of the line of some fine china." His hands then traveled up more up his taut abs until they settled around his hard nubs, stroking them from time to time with his index fingers. This stimulation soon caused Uryū to let out an inappropriate moan which made Ichigo smirk until he bit his tongue at the pain he felt from his foot.

"Ow! The hell was that for?" exclaimed the confused redhead who was looking down at his aching foot.

Uryū turned around and glared at Ichigo. "_That's_ for doing something so inappropriate. You do know that your sisters are upstairs, and I don't want to be caught in an embarrassing position because of you."

Ichigo grumbled and said, "Well good morning to you too."

Turning back to the stove the Quincy said, "It would have been if it not for your constant yelling and childish ways."

Even though Ichigo was glaring at Uryū's back, he knew that Uryū was smirking. "Childish ways! I—"

"Jeez, could you guys yell any louder. You both sound like an old married couple." Complained Karin as she walked over to the table taking a seat from across where Ichigo was standing. She had her eyes closed and had her face propped by her hand, but if she would have opened them she would have seen the shocked and flushed faces of both Ichigo and Uryū.

After regaining the form to speak, Ichigo walked over to the table and sat across from Karin. "That's a stupid thing to say, sleepyhead."

The Quincy didn't comment and only turned his attention back to the breakfast after he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. The rosy color was still plastered on his cheeks but didn't let anyone see it as he felt himself lose the heat from such an embarrassing comment from the young raven-haired girl.

When Yuzu came down to join them, the breakfast was already finished and Uryū went about setting the food on the plates.

"Ah, thank you, Ishida-kun! You really didn't have to." Yuzu sat down on the table next to Karin and watched as Uryū placed a plate in front of her, Karin and Ichigo.

Uryū served himself and then made his way to the table, sitting next to Ichigo. "Like I said, I don't mind helping you, Yuzu-chan," offering the girl a small smile.

Yuzu returned it with her own smile. "Onii-chan really is lucky to be dating someone as nice as you, Ishida-kun."

Ichigo then choked on his juice when he heard that come out of Yuzu's mouth. "Lucky?" whispered the redhead as he looked over to his smiling sister. He then turned his gaze over to Uryū and could see that the Quincy was getting an overdose of an ego if his sister kept complimenting him. Then, he heard the last thing he thought would ever come out of the Quincy's mouth.

"Yeah, he is lucky, isn't he?"

"The hell?" exclaimed Ichigo as he looked over to Uryū who now had a small smirk hiding behind his drink.

Karin added, "Ishida-kun does have a point, Ichi-nii really is lucky," smirking over at Ichigo who gave her a glare. _That's what you get for waking me up in the morning, Ichi-nii._

The Shinigami sat back on his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "Tch, kept that up and Ishida will have an ego big enough to fill the entire roo—mmm."

"What was that, Kurosaki, I don't think I heard you right."

Both Ichigo's sisters were staring at him as he suddenly stopped mid-sentence all of a sudden. Ichigo was biting his lip to hold back a scream due to Uryū's foot stepping on his with a great amount of force. Swallowing his saliva, he said, "I-I said I am lucky." The foot was then removed, giving Ichigo his foot back to ache from the throbbing pain it was going through.

"I'll get you for this," whispered Ichigo in low, harsh voice that only the Quincy heard.

The only response to that was Uryū sending him a smirk over to his direction.

* * *

><p>Being constantly in a room with another woman was nothing to Kioshi. The only problem he had was that said woman kept glancing at him every once in a while and quickly averting her gaze back to her book that she had in her hand as she <em>tried <em>to read it. He knew that he should have left the room and go back to the tree outside the window but the way his body is reacting, he couldn't do much at the moment.

Orihime looked down at her cook book and every once in a while gave the man who was sitting on the edge of her bed a quick glace before looking back down to her book. She wondered if the man was looking at her from the corner of his eyes since they were now hidden behind pitch dark sunglasses that she gave him. No matter how much Orihime wanted to ask the mystery man a question, she couldn't bring herself to do it. He always seemed a bit annoyed every time she would ask him something, even though he perfectly masked it every time, more so now because his face was nothing but expressionless. His mouth was always in a straight line and he never moved around, unlike him, Orihime constantly needed to do something with her body or she would have died of boredom. Taking another quick peek over the rim of the book, she quickly glanced away when he moved his head to the side.

Unknown to the girl, Kioshi was tightly clenching his teeth inside his mouth and when he saw her once again looking over to him and then down when he moved his head, he had had enough of these silly games. "If there is something in your mind, then by all means, go ahead and ask."

The girl looked taken aback by this but more so that he was the first to speak in the room since she kind of figured he liked the quiet, but nonetheless he gave her an opportunity to ask a question about what has been eating at her for a while and she wasn't going to waste her opportunity. "Um, do you have any family or… I don't know—I mean—" Orihime was scratching her head in nervousness and she knew it.

Kioshi already figured out what she was trying to say and interrupted her by saying, "You want to know about my personal life, is that what you are trying to say?"

Orihime blushed but merely nodded at being caught.

Rubbing his chin once and going through many stories in his head, Kioshi wondered if he should just flat out lie and tell her some fairytale or tell her the truth—or at least to how close he could get to the truth. Finally making up his mind after a momentarily silence, he broke it. "I'm not from this continent."

This surprised Orihime as she forgot about her book and let it drop to the floor in which she was sitting on, her eyes also widen as she tried to take that small information in. _But… how could I not see it. If he's not from here then he should have an accent or… something!_

"Shocked?"

Orihime gave a small nod which made Kioshi cross his leg over the other.

"I'm not surprised. I perfected the language before ever trying it out here in a native land. I really thought it would be difficult considering my accent, but then again, nothing is difficult to me if you have the intelligence that I have." He spoke highly of his intelligence of learning a new language and showed it off, though he placed it off as nothing more than talking about the weather.

The redhead girl needed to ask now after she heard that this man was not from around here. "Then where are you from?"

Kioshi bit his tongue and then looked to the side. "I'm from… the continent you know as Europe." The word came out as a bitter taste in his mouth but he did not let it show. Even so, merely saying that one little word brought back memories of the days he had spent on his home land. His unforgiving home.

_Home…_

**A young boy stood outside his home and ran over to the door. When he opened the door he saw his mother busy with her usual routine. The woman looked up from her activity and saw her only male son at the door way. She smiled invitingly and the boy felt like the whole room was illuminated.**

"**Mother!" the child ran up to his mother and his height only made it past her knees. He had a bright smile on his face with dirt covering his left cheek and forehead.**

**The woman looked down at her son and patted his head. "My, you're all dirty." The boy merely smiled and the woman began cleaning the dirty spots on his face with a rag. "Has your sister been playing too rough with you?"**

**He shook his head and then quickly left the house once again when the woman released her hold on him. She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head with a smile on her face. "That boy will be the death of me," saying it in a jokingly way before going back to her work.**

**The boy headed back outside and didn't return back home until night had fallen. **

**As the boy walked down a path, he could see that some kids who were playing turned to look at him and then ignored him. **_**Why does everyone always look at me that way?**_** He looked down at the path and closed his eyes. Walking a bit more fast now, the boy decided that he didn't care what everyone thought about him, he had his mother and sister and that was all he needed. **

**When the boy was a few feet away from his home, he could see that the front door was opened. **_**That's strange.**_** He picked up his pace only to find himself face to face with the most gruesome scene he has ever laid eyes upon. "M-mo—"**

"**You're late."**

**The voice made the boy feel a shiver go down his spine as he turned his head to the side and saw his father sitting down in a chair. He had a cold look on his face and held what look to be hair in his clenched hand. The man stood up and walked closer to the boy. "I told you that you never come home late." As the boy was walking backwards, the man quickly lunged forward and held the boy by his arms, his grip strong. **

"**Let go! What did you do to mother?" the boy squirmed to break free from his father's hold but to no avail. The man held him tight in his grip and he didn't look like he was going to release the boy any time soon.**

"**Your mother… I merely gave her dose of a chemical I was working with. If she **_**died**_** it was merely because she was too weak to handle it." He looked over to the woman on the floor who looked lifeless with no pulse in her. "Weak… that is all she ever was able to raise, pathetic."**

"**She's not pathetic! Mother did more than you ever did and my sis—" he stopped mid-sentence when realization came to him. "M-my sister. Where is my sister?" he looked around franticly and hoped that she was not near the house. **

**The young boy's father looked down at the boy and said, "She got what she deserved. Though, I did hope that she would be able to take my chemical with no problem, but it seemed that God was not on her side. Oh well."**

**The way his father was talking made the boy feel hatred flow through him. He knew that the man never came home until he found it suitable. He also knew that he liked to play with his formulas and tried to decipher ways to be able to understand the one thing that was always a mystery to him. Fear. It was the only thing that kept him going in his research, no matter how much he tried to understand the concept, he couldn't seem to bring it out from his chemicals. **

"**No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to get the formula right. Every time I inject someone with my dose they all fail me and just die." He then turned his gaze towards the motionless boy who only held his fist clenched tightly, shaking from the anger he was feeling at the moment. This intrigued the man and soon an idea popped into his head. "Hm, that anger… how about I give you a healthy amount of my dose."**

**Horror passed through the boy's eyes and soon the squirming commenced again, trying with all his will to break free from his father's hold. But the more the boy tried to escape, the more the man held him, until he was pushed down to the floor. **

"**This won't hurt one bit." The man took out a syringe from his coat and then began to near it to his own son until the boy pushed back enough for the syringe to fall from his hand. This action made the man scowl and pushed the boy's head to the ground with great force. "You ungrateful brat!" the boy flinched from the words but all he did was whimper as tears began to fall from his eyes. "You are nothing but a mere tool of God, our creator, and as such since I am your father I am **_**your **_**creator! Now you shall do as I say!" he leaned his head down until he was close to his ear, whispering, "Fear, my dear boy, controls everything. God brought us to this world to understand this one concept. Why do you think I, your creator, bestowed upon you the name…"**

_**No… my only creator is God. My God… God…**_

"… Kioshi-kun… Kioshi-kun?"

Kioshi came out of his flashback at the call of his name. He looked over to the young girl and once again saw the look of worry. _That look was upon my mother at one time… so long ago._ "Excuse me, but I must go." As he moved to stand up, he quickly fell back to the bed and held his head in his hand. _Damn._

Orihime stood up from the floor and walked over to Kioshi as he held his head. "I think you need to rest."

Opening his eyes to see the girl, he wondered why she would care so much for someone like him. Even so, he could not deny that the agonizing pain was still there and felt that it would be better to give in to his old ways and finally close his eyes, even if it was for awhile. He slowly saw the girl disappearing from his view until his whole world turned black.

Orihime saw Kioshi fall back to her bed and knew, even though she couldn't see his eyes, that he was asleep. "I wonder if I brought back a bad memory. He was spaced out for a long time." She moved Kioshi to the center of the bed and left the room for the man to sleep.

* * *

><p>As Ichigo waved goodbye to his sisters as they headed out into the street, Uryū was inside washing the dishes that were left in the sink. Closing the door, Ichigo headed upstairs and went into his room. He looked over to his closet and opened it; he scowled as he saw Kon sleeping on his shirt. Shaking his head, he ignored that shirt and grabbed another one that wasn't being used as a cushion. Closing the closet back up as quietly as possible, Ichigo then headed into the bathroom and started running the water for a shower. Pulling off his shirt and dropping it on the floor, he checked himself in the mirror and remembered something Uryū said.<p>

_Morning breath…_

_So I have morning breath, eh? Guess I should fix that._

Ichigo reached for his old tooth-brush that was still where he had left it before getting his own place, and he then grabbed paste to place on his red colored brush. Turning on the sink, he began washing his teeth and was thorough as he went over every tooth and his tongue, wanting no excuse for the Quincy to say anything about his breath anymore. Rinsing out his mouth, he began pulling down his pants with his boxers as well and turned the faucet off. Getting inside the running water of the shower-head, Ichigo began his usual morning routine.

After Uryū had finished with the dishes, he heard the water running and headed up to Ichigo's room to read up on his book as he waited for him to finish his shower so that he could begin his own. As Uryū read a few pages into the book, he soon began to wonder how the babies were going to be brought into the world. He certainly hoped it wasn't through the same way women have their kids because that… was bound to hurt. Cringing at the thought, he placed the book down and rubbed his temple. _How long is Kurosaki thinking of being in the shower?_

Getting impatient on waiting for Ichigo to finish, Uryū stood up and grabbed his clothes he wore the other day. He knew that Ichigo's clothes were ridiculously short with weird slogans so he didn't want to wear such clothing. Rather, he would just wear his clothing from yesterday and retrieve his clothing from Ichigo's apartment later.

When Ichigo walked into the room and saw Uryū with his clothing from yesterday in his hands, he said, "I have clothing for you to wear you know."

Uryū shook his head and walked past Ichigo as he replied, "Your clothing is strange." He then closed the bathroom door behind him.

"Tch, look who's talking."

Ichigo pulled the towel that was around his neck off and tossed it to the chair in the room. He then walked over to his bed and got on his knees as he began to look under his bed for the bag that he stashed in there. _Good, it's still there. I guess Ishida hasn't seen it yet._ Placing the bag back to its original place, he wondered if he should give Urahara a call. Shaking his head after a moment of debating, he decided to wait for a bit and give him time.

The moment Ichigo heard the water turn off, he headed downstairs and sat down on the couch, one arm resting on top while the other was on the armrest.

The Quincy came out of the shower and was running the towel through his hair. After running his hand through his locks, he parted his hair with his hand and began settling it into his usual style, one side of his hair behind his ear while the other was resting in front of his face. Completing his task and being fully dressed now, he exited the bathroom and went to where Ichigo was located at. The redhead was sitting on the couch as he looked like he was contemplating something. "Thinking, Kurosaki, now that's scary," teased Uryū as he waited for a reply. But when he didn't get on, he was curious as to what could have Ichigo's attention.

Feeling the couch sink next to him, Ichigo came out of his thoughts. "Oh, Ishida, you say something?"

"Apparently not since you seem to be in your own little world," pushing his glasses up, he then said, "so, what's got you all thinking, anyway?"

Ichigo ran a hand through his spiky hair and closed his eyes for a second. "Well, I know that the only people who know about your… you know," gesturing to his stomach, "are Urahara, Tessai, and us." Uryū looked at Ichigo with a small scowl beginning to show, and Ichigo could see that he was getting the wrong idea. "Look, I know that you don't want to tell just _anyone_ about this but…" Ichigo sighed and looked over to the poster of his mother. "… I want to tell my dad."

Uryū didn't know how to act since this was very surprising. "And he needs to know because…"

Ichigo sighed. "I just don't want my dad to be kept in the dark about this. I mean, you're going to tell your fa—"

"Absolutely not!" interrupted the Quincy as he now fully scowled over to the bewildered Shinigami.

This sort of didn't surprise Ichigo since he knew that Uryū wasn't going to be fully on board with telling Ryūken from what he knows how strain that relationship is, but he still needs to understand that this isn't some secret that they could hide forever. Falling into his usual scowl, Ichigo said, "But Ishida—"

"We're not having this discussion," interrupted Uryū once again with the same cold, stern tone he used a couple of minutes ago.

And Ichigo finally exploded.

"You never want to talk about it! You either just push it aside or don't worry about it all! We need to at least try to come to a common ground here."

Uryū took this into consideration and nodded. "Fine, I keep to my business and you keep to yourself." With that Uryū stood up and left Ichigo by himself.

The only thought that ran through Ichigo's mind was…

_What just happened?_

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><p>Urahara was thankful for his hat since he was left sitting by the front of the door to Ryūken's home with the blazing sun as his witness. <em>Why am I doing this again? This heat is <em>unbearable_._ He was also thankful for his fan as he fanned his face in a pretty fast motion to keep himself from heating up and sweating bullets. Half of him wanted to just bust into the house but the other half reminded him it wasn't the gentlemen thing to do. _Whoever said I was a gentleman?_ A wicked grin formed behind his fan and then he stood up to face the door in front of him. Raising his palm up, aiming towards the door, he was about to blast it down until he saw the door knob moving.

Moments later, Isshin came out while he was rubbing his eyes. "Oh, Urahara, what are you doing here?"

The shopkeeper blinked for a moment and let his hand fall to his side. "Isshin-san, I merely came to talk to you," Isshin looked confused at this as he saw Urahara point his fan towards him, "for your son."

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><p><strong>AN: I always stop in cliff hangers! Anyway, this chapter was supposed to be up a couple of days a ago but my older sis made me write more since she thought it would be stupid to stop in the middle of the chapter. Like I was going to post only half the stuff than the whole 16 pages I wrote here. Then I got distracted with studying for THE most important tests of my life, I also needed to do some college stuff which took forever. All in all, I got real busy and not enough time, this chapter was written between breaks and weekdays. **

**To all you who thought the mystery character was Ichigo, sorry but no. That would just seem a bit spontaneous and also I do believe that Urahara has a better chance in talking with Isshin than Ichigo would at the moment. You also get to see that this chapter is about my OC but yet it doesn't go as deep to their history but you still get a taste if you're interested. **

**Before I do a review response, I need to do this… Substitute Quincy I love your comment! Yes, it **_**is **_**a brother's duty to torture their siblings every once in a while. Look at my sis, she tortured me into writing more! How absorbed, but hopefully you all enjoy the lengthy of this chapter. I have a feeling that chapters are going to be longer from now on… it depends. Also, I'm going to the doctor again so I'll probably not update for awhile, sorry!**

**Review Response:**

**Gemini24: Thanks for the best wishes on my health and hopefully I get that resolve. And yes, my sister really is a determined person. While you make a point in the no blood relationship bit, it's still seen as weird, especially since it is Ryūken and Uryū that were talking about here. I can't imagine them all living in the same roof, and if I do (which I will) the house will be utter chaos (that would be interesting, though). I'm glad you liked the Karin and Uryū conversation; I'm going to write a scene as well for a Yuzu and Uryū conversation around… maybe the next chapter (if life allows it). Your welcome, I tend to read a lot so I don't mind reading your creation when you're ready. Hope you enjoy this chapter and the more to come!**

**Mina Kye: Again, I love that people enjoyed the conversation between Uryū and Karin. What I'm really trying to do is get into a atmosphere were both Ichigo's sisters are comfortable with Uryū … he does carry the their future nephews. You know… my sister read the reviews… I got a shoe thrown at me… ouch. **

**shionch: I've been meaning to write more Isshin and Ryūken for some time now seeing as they just vanished for some while, but I'm glad you enjoyed the return of the papas! Thnaks for the compliment on the scenes, I do try to get a mood set on every page break. Sorry if you were expecting Ryūken, but like I said, the time is not right, yet. I try to update when I usually have time and it sometimes lands on the weekends, but seeing as I got extremely busy it lands when I have the time, I do need to go back and always check the chapter to see how I did. My sis tends to help so that just takes more time in updating. The "Crusade for Kuroshitsuji" as you kindly put it… believe me… that shoe was worth it. **

**Nano: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for your compliments.**

**Reina De La Noche: Thanks for the compliments! When I got sick my writing is all I have until I feel better, but when it gets to the point of a headache, I just drop everything and don't lift a finger. Not much IchiIshi moments in this chapter, but the next one will have more. A father always does their best for their kids; Isshin comes out to me as one as such. I don't underestimate a woman, especially my sister but seeing her face was **_**so**_** worth it! Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Dragon77: The person at the door is none other than… well you need to read but I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Cammy: You have the next chapter and hope you also enjoy it!**

**Substitute Quincy: Thank you for enjoying the conversation and yes there will be a Yuzu and Uryū conversation, hopefully in the next chapter. I really want all of Ichigo's sisters to make some connection with Uryū and see him more than someone that Ichigo is dating. I envy you; I wish I could get on a motorcycle and get lost in the city… I think my sister took quite her time looking around for the anime… but I completely agree with you, siblings have a duty to torture their siblings and vice versa!**

**yurifan: Thanks for liking the conversation! I think my sisters hope shatter when they didn't have it in stock either, but I can definitely understand the need to own the anime, it's really good! **

**Haddrell: Thank you for your concern for my well-being, even though I fell better, I still need to check with my doc to see how I'm really doing (mother's concern). Ryūken comes like the cold type with an interesting point of view of things, I seriously wonder what got him to act like he does… I'm glad you enjoyed the scene, I felt like it was just a good time to let those two bond on some level. Hope you enjoy this chapter even though Ichigo isn't the one confronting Ryūken. **

**yuroxxie317: I'm glad you enjoy the parings in my story! And don't worry… it okay to get addicted to the story lol!**

**kooccachoo: Hey! I also tend to that to! But I hope you do read more than that section of the story, not that I mind. If Ryūken found out that Uryū was pregnant, he'll have to see it with his own two eyes to believe it. Isshin's reaction to finding out will be quite interesting piece to write, but for now I'll leave that for the next chapter. **

**Vivora: Thanks for liking this chapter! The bluray box really is worth it if you are a fan of the series. Yeah, I can't live without my lovable sisters!**

**Thanks for the reviews and wish me luck with going with the doctor… I really never liked them…**

**Please review. **


	32. A Matter of Trust

**A/N: **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Bleach.**

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><p>A Matter of Trust<p>

Ichigo had stayed put in the couch after going off on Uryū and couldn't find it in him to follow him instantly. Maybe he should give the Quincy time to himself to cool down, but when Ichigo thought of how he was the one who started this whole mess, he stood up and walked up the stairs. Making up with Uryū was the only thing in his mind. Being in good terms with him made him feel relaxed and the thought of them fighting over something that wasn't even worth speaking of right at the moment didn't put him in ease.

When he reached his room, Ichigo placed his hand on the door knob and turned it. Opening the door, he saw Uryū sitting crossed legged on the bed with a book in his hand. The raven-haired man had a scowl on his face and that made Ichigo know that he was still angry with the redhead. _Great, how the hell am I supposed to make up with Ishida?_

Closing the door behind him, Ichigo walked nearer to Uryū until he was beside his bed. Uryū hasn't said a word and only turned a page from his book, completely ignoring Ichigo as he stood there.

Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Ichigo sat on the edge of the bed and waited a few seconds until he couldn't take the quiet anymore. "Ishida."

Uryū merely turned another page.

The Shinigami scowled and let out and exasperated sigh. "Look, I get it. You want to keep it a secret between us. That's fine with me."

Closing his book, Uryū slid his eyes shut and then opened them up and turned his head to look at Ichigo. "You don't understand, Kurosaki." Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "You think I don't know how much you want to tell someone you're having a child. Believe me that if I could, I would be telling everyone of the joy of having children, but," Uryū looked down and placed a hand over his abdomen, "_you _need to understand that in these circumstances, neither of us can tell _anyone_. I rather keep this a secret until the time is right rather than giving something so _strange _away and making everyone be… disgusted by this."

Ichigo's eyes widen at how Uryū was saying this out. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell anyone, it's because he's worried of what their reaction would be. And that is understandable, Ichigo couldn't force Uryū to let him tell anyone he saw fit. Uryū was the one with his children in him and he had a right to do what he wanted to do. Scooting closer to Uryū, Ichigo placed his hand over the one that was over his abdomen. The Quincy looked up to lock eyes with brown innocent eyes that were captivating.

"Ishida, what you have in here isn't strange or disgusting, not to me, and not to the people around us." Ichigo leaned in closer until he was a couple of inches away from Uryū's face. "But I trust you and I'll keep this a secret until we're _both _ready, okay?"

Uryū was surprised at how the Shinigami was able to understand where he was coming from and couldn't ask for more. They both found common ground and could wait until the time was right… for him. It was obvious that Ichigo was ready to speak of it, but Uryū still needed time, and his redheaded boyfriend was willing to give him just that. Giving Ichigo the slightest smile, Uryū said, "I trust you as well and I'm glad you are willing to wait for the time being. When we tell your family, I want to be sure and be able to look them in the eye," the bespectacled man gave him a sheepish smile, "though, I think we should tell your father before hand and then your sisters. We wouldn't want more than two fainting."

Grinning, Ichigo leaned forward and pecked Uryū's lips in a slight kiss. "Yeah, I like that. I'm willing to do that. Just as long if we don't have to hide forever, because this isn't wrong… this is perfect."

The redhead was being so caring that it was hard for Uryū to not be captivated by this side of him. He placed it as Ichigo growing up from the rash boy he was when they first met into someone who was able to comprehend what was going on around them. But no matter how much Uryū hated to admit it, the Shinigami held a special place in his heart no matter how idiotic and rash he may be, to him, Ichigo was true to himself and that's the most attractive feature he could ever hope to find in someone. With that in mind, Uryū closed off the remaining distance between the two and again recaptured the Shinigami's lips.

Every time Ichigo kissed Uryū, it sets a burning fire within him and he felt himself lost in a battlefield of passion; lips so soft and delicate yet so raw with emotion, hands grasping for support when they reach out to touch the sun. It's all felt through every caress and every movement made by each party; two men with the same goal of bringing the other into a pleasurable state, and neither backing down from getting the other there. Excitement brewed and before either could go any farther, they pull away with a string of saliva connecting their lips as they part.

Both closed their eyes the moment Ichigo leaned his forehead on Uryū's and merely stayed there, taking in the moment of peace. "You know I trust you, right?" whispered the Shinigami.

Uryū shifted his head and nuzzled his nose with Ichigo's. "Yes. I trust you as well. How could I not, you're my best friend and more."

A smile came to the lips of Ichigo and no matter how hard he tried to fight it off, it stayed put. He opened his eyes and saw how relaxed Uryū was just being with him. It seemed strange to Ichigo to not want to be separated from the Quincy but he just placed that off as his over protectiveness of never wanting to have him too far away from him. The thought of him being at one place and Uryū being in another when a Hollow comes up made Ichigo very worried and doesn't want to ever let that happen. The redhead wrapped his arms around Uryū's slim waist and brought him closer to him until he was practically in his lap.

"Ishida?"

Uryū merely hummed in reply, too much into his relaxed stage that he didn't want to disturb this quiet, peaceful moment.

"Promise that you will not overreact on what I want to ask you… again."

Slightly shifting in his position, Uryū felt that Ichigo was about to bring up something he didn't want to speak of, but nonetheless he gave in, curiosity picking at him. "Fine."

Ichigo wrapped his arms tighter around Uryū but kept his forehead on his, not wanting to break their connection. "If a Hollow shows up, I don't want you to risk your—" Ichigo was cut off as he felt the Quincy shifting around but he kept them together, not wanting to give Uryū a way to escape, "—self, Ishida, I just want you to place your priorities on the twins and not on Hollow hunting."

Letting out a small sigh, Uryū could feel his headache coming back. "Kurosaki, do you know what you are asking of me?"

"Yeah, I'm not asking you to give up being yourself as a Quincy. I'm _asking _for you to place those thoughts aside and just worry about our kids." To place more emphasis on that, Ichigo moved a hand to rest on his abdomen, slightly caressing it.

Uryū knew the risks of being pregnant with a child but seeing that he's with two, it doubles the risks. Ichigo knew this and so did Uryū; he just couldn't let something that he was born with go that easily. Tell him to quit sewing for a couple of months, sure. But ask him to stop hunting down Hollows when they arise, he just couldn't find it in him to give a straight answer to Ichigo.

"Kurosaki, let's not talk about—"

Tightening his grip on the slim waist, Ichigo cut him off. "No. Let's talk about it."

_Damn. Kurosaki, why do you ask so much of me while I ask nothing in return?_ As Uryū went over this thought in his head, something hit him. "Fine, I'll… stop… for now." He wanted to cringe at the mere words spoken but held it in. "But I want you to promise me something."

The Shinigami loosened his hold and delivered a kiss to his cheek when he heard those words spoken, not caring what Uryū was about to ask of him. "Sure, what is it?"

"I want you to stop hunting Hollows as well."

And Ichigo froze on the spot.

* * *

><p>Isshin was a bit confused as to why Urahara was looking for him since he usually just likes to poke fun at him from time to time, but the moment he heard the words:<p>

"_I merely came to talk to you, for your son."_

He knew that it was serious.

Stepping aside to let the shopkeeper in, Isshin closed the door and led him to the living room for the two to sit down and have a chat about whatever Urahara had to say to Isshin. Though, one thing was certain, Isshin wasn't going to like this.

When Urahara settled himself in a seat across from Isshin, he could see that the dark-haired man was somewhat composed but at the same time caught off guard with his visit.

"So, what did that delinquent of a son want to talk to me about?"

Leaning back on his seat, Urahara took out his fan and pointed it towards Isshin. "For starters, he asked me to set you up with a meeting with him." He smirked behind his opened fan. "I'm guessing you've been spending your time here, Isshin-san."

Isshin crossed his arms over his chest and let out a small grin. "Heh, sorry to say, but it's not what you think, you old pervert. I just needed a place to crash for a while—"

"And that needed to be with Ishida-san?"

"Look," Isshin said with all seriousness, "we both know that out of the three of us, you're the only one who knows about… us, and I plan to keep it that way, but…" he trailed off as he remembered the position Ichigo and Uryū caught them in the last time he saw them at the hospital.

Urahara quickly understood why Isshin stopped mid-way. "Let me guess, Kurosaki or Ishida-kun found out about you and Ishida-san's little…" he stopped to look for the right word, "… rendezvous." His eyes then narrowed as another conclusion came to him. "Or maybe, they both found out, which is why you're not at home, right?"

The shopkeeper needed to hide his smirk from the dark-haired man seeing as he hit the bull's-eye, which could be because Isshin turned a bit pink on both cheeks and somewhat lost his composure.

Tapping his index finger on his upper arm in annoyance, Isshin said, "It doesn't even matter… not anymore at least." He looked off to the side at the many thoughts running through his head. "But I needed to be away from them to try and settle what I want to do with… Ryūken."

Green eyes slightly widen underneath Urahara's hat. "So you're actually thinking about cutting it off with Ishida-san?" to the shopkeeper, it was unheard of for the two to just break off many years of… relationship, if you could even call it that, but, nevertheless it still was surprising.

The dark-haired man sighed and ran a hand through his spiky locks. "I don't know… a part of me wants to so that I could let Ishida-kun and Ichigo have a chance at their relationship… but…"

"You're still uncertain about many things concerning Ishida-san," finished off Urahara.

Isshin released a dry chuckle, looking down at the carped below his feet. "Even now I still find it hard to read the man sometimes. But knowing that I'm the only one that can ever be that close to him makes me feel… special, I guess."

Now it was all becoming clear to the shopkeeper. Isshin wasn't avoiding his family because he wanted to leave them be, in truth, he was just trying to figure out where his priorities lie. Even now, he doesn't have the answer he was seeking for. The answer whether he wanted to break it off with Ryūken. Closing his eyes for a second, Urahara took this into consideration. "I see," he then opened them up with clear resolve behind his green eyes, "but I still must ask of you to at least see Kurosaki. Your son might have… something important to share with you." Not wanting to give everything away if Ichigo was going to tell him or not and merely made it sound interesting enough so that Isshin wouldn't refuse.

At hearing that, Isshin's eyebrows shot up. "Interesting? What do you mean by that?"

"Ah, that you must learn by yourself." Urahara stood up and brushed his pants from invisible dust. "I already did what I was asked to do; now I must take my leave." He smiled sheepishly. "Ishida-san already threatened me for just being outside his house; who knows what he might do if he knew I was inside his comfy little house." Turning to exit the house, Isshin followed behind him.

The moment he was just about to pass the door to head outside, Urahara looked over his shoulder to look at Isshin. "Isshin-san, if you ever do think about ending it with Ishida-san, then I suggest you think long and hard before making a decision that big. But most of all," he walked to the outside world and into the sun, and as he kept walking off, he said, "you must ask yourself and say whether Ishida-san trusts you enough to ever have considered this a real relationship. And, do you trust in Ishida-san."

Isshin was frozen as the shopkeeper said those words. He never thought about it that way. From all the time he knew Ryūken, Isshin knew that he could trust the man with his life, but… he never once ever stopped to think if he could trust the Quincy with his heart. Something inside Isshin was slowly beginning to click and he wondered how long it would take for Ryūken to call him and harass him for every tiny detail he and Urahara shared. And if that were to happen… then Ryūken would only be making things more clearly for him and see that the doctor never trusted himself with Isshin and he was merely some possession that was just there when convenient. Ryūken never gave him his heart. It would only take one simple phone call to settle everything.

* * *

><p>Ryūken moved another file from his desk and reached for another one. He kept trying to bury himself in his work so that he wasn't given the chance to get up and drag Urahara from his home, even if he was just outside. But as time went by, worry began settling in. Why would Urahara even need to speak with Isshin in the first place? Could it be possible that the shopkeeper was there to only confuse Isshin into more of his lies that he kept spitting since the day he met the man.<p>

His eyes darted over to the phone a couple of inches away from him and the urge to reach for it became something too strong to not resist. That is why he reached his arm out and grasped the handle of the phone, but he then quickly moved his hand back and shook his head to rid himself of his pathetic thoughts. _That damn Urahara might just want to poke fun at Kurosaki, yes, nothing to worry about._

That in mind, he placed his concentration back to his work with the quick glances to his phone from time to time as he kept trying to fight off the need to grab the phone. Isshin may be idiotic at times but he needed credit that when things were serious, the man would buckle down and also get serious as well, though that hardly ever showed in his character. _Hm, quite a pity, really. _

Staking papers together in a neat stack, Ryūken's mind began to wonder if Urahara was there as some messenger from either Kurosaki Ichigo or his foolish son. And if so, why would they need to contact the shopkeeper to deliver a message? Could it be possible that the mere children were trying to sabotage his relationship with Isshin after seeing them in a compromising position? He wouldn't put it pass Uryū to do something like that since the Kurosaki boy was just too simple to come up with something like that.

_So, this is Uryū's doing. That boy really does know where to stick his nose where it doesn't belong. _The paper in his hand was being crumpled with the strength he emitted on it. _If Isshin begins to doubt even the slightest bit of me, Uryū will surely pay for this. No one interferes with what belongs to me._

The phone completely forgotten as his mind wandered off to unpleasant things.

* * *

><p>Ichigo stood stock still at the words his Quincy had spoken. <em>What?<em> He looked to the side to make eye contact with Uryū but he had his eyes closed as he leaned his head on his forehead. Blinking a few times to try to comprehend what was going on, he finally found his voice to respond. "I… Why would you—"

"It's not simple is it?"

_Huh?_

Uryū moved his head back so that he was starring at Ichigo's confused look. "See, you want me to stop hunting Hollows and you expect me to have an answer straight away. But not even you can have an answer the moment someone asks you of that."

Narrowing his eyes at the Quincy, Ichigo knew he had him. "Fine, you have a point _but_ I'm not the one carrying two kids inside."

"I know, but to stop hunting Hollows, even ones that are nearby, is going to be difficult. I know when I need to pull out, but if you're not nearby then I'll deal with it myself."

Understanding what Uryū was saying, Ichigo realized that the Quincy won their little argument, even though he didn't like it. "Okay, you don't have to stop with the Hollows _if_ they are after you, but if they're not, then don't go after them by yourself. Deal?"

The Quincy went over that in his head and nodded to the terms. "I'll just do my part when needed."

Nodding as well, Ichigo tightened his hold on the Quincy's waist again and made himself fall backwards onto the bed, taking a surprised Uryū with him who landed on his chest.

"Kurosaki, wha—?"

The Shinigami merely hummed and nuzzled his face into the crook of Uryū's neck. "This is nice." He let his fingers wander into Uryū's shirt and began to run smooth circles over the taut skin; being so close to Uryū always made Ichigo react in some relaxed way that only the Quincy could do.

Uryū found it strange how Ichigo would react to him since their encounter in Urahara's shop when he was in the shower. The Shinigami would become very clingy to him and that, in itself, was very odd to the sapphire-eyed man. Closing his eyes and trying to concentrate to find something amiss, the Quincy was quickly pulled out of his trance as Ichigo began to rub his face to his cheek. _Now I know something is wrong._ Ignoring Ichigo so that he could concentrate, Uryū felt something peculiar. _What the—?_ Looking off to the side, he flicked his wrist to summon up his reiraku and his eyes widen at what he saw.

"K-Kurosaki…"

"Mm, what?" Ichigo brought his gaze over to what Uryū was looking at and his eyes as well widened. "How the hell did that happen?" exclaimed Ichigo as he saw the strangest thing happening to his reiraku.

Both a red and white reiraku were intertwined with each other and flowing together, like some exotic dance.

Keeping his gaze on their reiraku, Ichigo said, "Is that… suppose to happen?"

With a look of disbelief, Uryū wasn't so sure. "I'm… not sure."

The two kept looking at their ribbons and then Uryū felt the need to pull at it. The moment that happened, Ichigo felt something inside him and tightened his grip on Uryū. The Quincy also felt the small tug and decided it was best to release and dismiss the reiraku. "Well, that was strange. That might be why you're so clingy, Kurosaki."

Ichigo scowled down at the Quincy. "Who's clingy?" he retorted but Uryū remained unfazed by his response.

"You also do have an awful control when it comes to your reiatsu." Speaking mostly to himself as he murmured that off to the side, dismissing that Ichigo was even there.

The redhead was beginning to get pissed off at how Uryū was insulting him while he was right there, a few inches away from him. "Oi. I'm right here, you idiot."

"Hm, yes, I know," was the smooth reply from the Quincy as he brought his gaze over to Ichigo's face. He fought back the need to chuckle as he saw how frustrated Ichigo looked with his eyes closed and his usual scowl in place. _Heh, typical Kurosaki._

"Whatever. Anyway, what the hell was that about being 'clingy'?"

Uryū went into thought and explained a hypothetical theory. "Well, I guess since you lack control of your immense, leaking reiatsu, it might have… found mine a bit attractive, thus intertwining our reiraku to show the union of both."

Taking in what Uryū just said, Ichigo had a sour look on his face and replied, "So, in layman's terms, my reiatsu finds yours attractive and our reiraku being intertwine is the result of it."

Sighing, Uryū gave a slight nod. "Yes, yes it is."

"… That's stupid."

The Quincy's left eyebrow twitched in annoyance as Ichigo smoothly insulted his intelligence. "It was just a theory! If you're so smart then why don't you come up with something!"

Ichigo shifted a bit until he got into a relaxed position. "Nah, too much brain power this early in the morning."

Using his arm strength into pushing himself into a sitting position over Ichigo after he loosened his hold, Uryū cooked one eyebrow at the redhead. "How you passed high school is beyond me, Kurosaki."

Closing his eyes and folding his arms behind his head for support, Ichigo ignored the lost feeling of body heat from the Quincy. "School's easy; you just make things to damn complicated, and anyway, do you have anything to do today?"

Smirking, Uryū crossed his arms over his chest. "Why, bored, Kurosaki?"

"Hell yeah. I—" And then Ichigo remembered about asking Urahara to go look for his father so that he could contact him. "On second thought," Ichigo opened his eyes, slid away from under Uryū's straddled position by moving backwards on the bed and maneuvering his legs to the side of it, and then he stood up next to the bed, a confused Quincy looking at him through it all. "I actually have things to do."

Uryū's both eyebrows shot up and he ignored the disappointment settling in. "And what things do you have to do this morning, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo pulled his shirt down and shot him a grin. "Don't worry; I'll be back before you know it." He walked over to where Uryū was still on his knees on top of his bed and gently cupped either sides of his face, delivering a long, methodical, passionate kiss in which the Quincy returned as he snaked his arms around Ichigo's neck to try and pull him closer. When he felt the need to deepen the kiss, Ichigo disentangled himself from the Quincy's hold. "I'll be back around an hour or two." With that he exited the room.

Uryū watched the Shinigami leave and right before he was about to fall backwards on the bed, a stuff lion made its appearance.

"Yuck! Can you guys keep it down with all your smooching!" yelled out Kon as he opened the closet door. "How's a guy supposed to get a nap around here? Jeez, you would—"

_Kurosaki, why the hell did you forget to tell me that damn plushy was still here?_

Ignoring everything the lion was spewing; Uryū eyed him with bored eyes and decided what to do until Ichigo came back. "Kon, let me _fix_ you right up."

* * *

><p>Walking down the street with his hands stuffed in his pockets, Ichigo stopped mid-step as he remembered something. "Huh, where the hell am I going?" he looked up into the sky as he contemplated where to head to. <em>Urahara hasn't called me, and neither has my old man. I wonder if he chickened out in meeting me after all. Fine, then I'll just look for him.<em>

Ichigo began walking again as he had somewhat of a clue on where to start looking for his dad. _There wouldn't be too many places for the old man to stay in except with… _His eyes narrowed. _Ishida Ryūken._ _If I go to the hospital maybe someone could be able to give me directions to his home. _That in mind, the redhead began his journey to the hospital and hoped he didn't have to run in with the director.

* * *

><p>"Damn, I hate teleporting from one place to another." Whined Takeshi as he rubbed his neck.<p>

Both Masaru and Norio ignored his whining and continued down a corridor that led to the main room in the building. After returning from their scouting, they need to report to Kenshin about their findings and wait to see what their next orders are.

The moment they walk into the main room, all the members are sitting down in their respective seats, with the exception of Kioshi, Mikio, Takehiko, and Akihiko. Kenshin had his hair draping his face as to not show his eyes. He also had his elbows on the table and his fingers interlocked with each other; anyone could notice that the man was all business.

"Masaru, Takeshi, Norio, please take a seat," said Kenshin.

The three did so without asking questions and took their places. The whole room became quiet as they all waited for Kenshin to say something.

"Now, it has come to my attention about something so tragic it _disgust _me."

Everyone eyed each other after their leader said that in such a menacing tone. Neither knew what could be happening but they all were certain that whatever it was, it was something one would lose their life for.

Bringing his head up and looking across the table, Kenshin eyed every single member of his Verlossing, a group that he himself brought together in God's honor so that his word would be absolute, but yet, if there was a rotten apple in the group, he will eliminate it without hesitation. "Every single one of you are here for one reason and reason only," his eyes wandered to seek everyone's eyes individually, "to become God's children in hope of remaking his world into a pure sanctity. Sadly," he closed his eyes momentarily, "one, yes, I believe it is one, has the _audacity _to be known among us as a _traitor_." The word came out like venom as he hissed it out with pure loathing.

"So," he leaned back on his chair, "which one of you has become a martyr to want to go against God."

Takeshi looked around the table and like usual, was the first to burst out his opinion. "If this is such an important meeting then where in the world are Akihiko, Takehiko, Mikio and Kioshi! Don't you think it's a bit unfair to be naming people off as traitors without having everyone here? For all we know, one of those could be the traitor."

Even after Takeshi's outburst, the whole table remained silent and awaited patiently for Kenshin's reply.

Blue eyes eyed Takeshi and Kenshin leaned forward on the table again, interlocking his fingers. "Yes, I see your point, Takeshi. But, Takehiko and Akihiko are both asleep at the moment which is why they couldn't have joined us here today. As of Mikio and Kioshi, they seem to be ignoring their badges for the meeting but since they are in the Material World, I'll let one of you contact them later about what we are talking about this moment, which brings me back to my original question: Who here is a _traitor _to the Verlossing?" his knuckles cracked when he brought them together, eyes giving a menacing glow that would kill anyone who would dare just come out and say who was the suppose traitor.

Hiromi brought his elbow up on the table and rested his head on it, closing his eyes as he asked, "Kenshin-sama, how do you even know there is a traitor in our midst?"

Hiding his smirk behind the obscuring of his hair, Kenshin said, "Ah, very simple. It's because of this." Kenshin pulled out a small slip of paper from inside his coat pocket. He set it down and watched everyone bring their attention to the little piece of paper that lied on the table. "All though it doesn't look like much, this is all the information I need to know that there is in fact a traitor among us."

Takeshi narrowed his eyes at where Kenshin was and snarled out, "If that piece of paper holds all the information then why don't you just come out and say what's inside already!"

Shifting his gaze over to Takeshi, azure eyes narrowed and a smirk joined it. His voice held a smooth menacing tone that even made the strong, outburst man rethink what he did. "Simple, because I want the man who did this to come up and tell me, I want that person to repent for their sins and maybe God will show mercy on your… soul. That is all." He stood up and had one hand pressed on the table. "Now, why don't we move on to the infiltration of Soul Society, all right?"

Masaru eyed Takeshi as he huffed and looked away from Kenshin and crossed his arms over his chest. It was simple, everyone was a suspect, and no one could trust anyone.

* * *

><p>The moment Ichigo entered the hospital, he looked from side to side to see if Ishida Ryūken was anywhere in sight. When he didn't see him, he walked up to the front desk where a woman was typing in a computer. "Excuse me."<p>

The woman looked up. "Yes, how may I help you?"

"I was wondering if you knew where the director of the hospital lives."

"Um, we can't share personal information."

_Damn._ "Do you at least have a number—"

"What do we have here?"

Ichigo froze up at the sound of a cold voice that was very familiar to him. He heard footsteps getting closer until they stopped right behind him, a few feet away from his form. _Damn. The last thing I wanted was to run in to _him_._

Ryūken raised one eyebrow at Ichigo's back. "You know, it's the polite thing to do to face the person who has spoken to you, more so if they want to have a conversation with you." When Ichigo still kept his back turned to the older Quincy, Ryūken narrowed his eyes and said, "Turn around, Kurosaki."

Clenching his fist on the table he had his hands on, Ichigo scowled but turned his body around to face the scowling Quincy who had his arms crossed over his chest. The need to deck the man was very great but he didn't want to cause a scene in the hospital, he was also sure that the man could easily block him and make a fool out of him so he decided to hold back, for now. "Yes, _Ishida-san_."

Sapphire eyes momentarily twitched at picking up on the way Ichigo spat out his name in pure venom. If Ryūken could smirk at the boy who was holding back the need to try something, he would, but he didn't want to give himself the self-pleasure of doing so. "Why don't you come with me to my office? We certainly won't be disturbed there and have more privacy." He turned his back to begin walking to his office but before he could walk away, Ichigo spoke up.

"No thanks—"

"Kurosaki, I wasn't asking you, I was telling you. Now come."

And then Ryūken walked off with no doubt that Ichigo would follow.

The Shinigami looked on as Ryūken walked off and with a bit of hesitation, he walked after the white-haired man. Many thoughts ran through Ichigo's head as he followed Ryūken, with hands clenched tightly at his side and a firm scowl in place, he would handle anything the older Quincy would throw at him.

Ryūken looked from the corner of his eyes as he kept on walking and was surprised that the Shinigami would do as he asked. It was quite exhilarating at being able to control the redhead Shinigami, the need to push the boy was very much there but he would hold himself back, for the moment, until they were in the confines of his office.

Walking into his office, Ryūken was kind enough to hold the door for Ichigo to pass. Ichigo looked uncertain as he took a look at Ryūken's direction before entering the office. Once he past, Ryūken closed the door and walked around to his desk to take a seat. He beckoned the redhead to take a seat, and with that same uncertainty, Ichigo slowly reached for the chair and sat down. Now that both were settled, the Quincy leaned forward and interlocked his fingers on the desk.

"Now, I have a few questions to ask and I expect for you to give me a straight answer, Kurosaki."

Ichigo gripped the armrest on the chair with both hands as he waited for the Quincy to bolt him with questions that he had no idea what he was going to ask.

"First off," Ryūken made sure to lock eyes with Ichigo, "why would you ask for my house address?"

Pursing his lips together, Ichigo felt like a deer caught in headlights. _If I lie my way out of this, I'm pretty sure that he will notice. Guess I should just stick with the truth. _"I'm looking for my old man."

Ryūken's eyebrows shot up at the answer and then they furrowed at the implication of what that meant. "So, you believe that Kurosaki Isshin is living with me, is that it?"

"I—"

"Kurosaki," Ryūken said as he cut Ichigo off, "I hardly doubt that you would understand anything. I mean, in the end you're only using Uryū as a mere tool to satisfy yourself—"

Ichigo deeply scowled and slammed his fists on the desk. "What the hell are you talking about?" yelled an angry Shinigami, no longer wanting to hold back. "Ishida and I are both in a relationship and—"

"Are you sure it's you that Uryū is interested in?" said Ryūken smoothly, not fazed with the act of brashness from the redhead as he leaned back on his chair.

Being caught off guard by the simple question made Ichigo's anger quickly dissipate, he figured that Ryūken was only trying to mess with his head and didn't let himself fall for his trap. "I'm sure," he said firmly.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Ryūken opened them up and once again made eye contact with Ichigo. He could see that locking eyes with the Shinigami made him uncomfortable, he had the power and Ichigo was nothing more than a boy. "Has Uryū ever stated that his reiatsu has found yours attracting?" the look on the Shinigami's face brought self-pleasure to the doctor as he continued with his onslaught of questions. "I can tell that you leak _too_ _much_ reiatsu that could attract Hollows from miles away, why not someone that has perfect control of his but reaches out for something the opposite of one?"

Ichigo looked off to the side and considered what Ryūken was telling him. It all seemed… plausible. But then again, Ichigo was never in a relationship before; he never knew why someone would want to be in a relationship with him. Uryū was a man who was gay… and he liked him a lot. Ichigo was… a man who… spewed out too much reiatsu to attract Uryū to him. Was that it? All these questions were rattling in his head that he didn't even notice Ryūken stand up and walk around his desk over to where he was sitting.

Ryūken placed a hand on his shoulder and that startled Ichigo. The Quincy leaned down close to his ear and whispered, "Tell me, are you gay, Kurosaki?"

_That's it!_ "Listen you—" Ichigo would have never thought that Ryūken, the most coldest man he ever knew, would ever… kiss him. His eyes were wide at the touch of lips against lips. He also noticed how different they were compared to Uryū's. Uryū had soft lips that were the softest than a plain white feather, sweet to the taste of honey. But Ryūken's lips… they were somewhat cold and he emitted this bittersweet taste that didn't go right with Ichigo. Not standing anymore for the man's lewd gesture, Ichigo roughly pushed the Quincy away with the strength of both his hands placed on Ryūken's shoulders.

The Quincy stumbled backwards due to the push from the Shinigami. Ichigo glared at the man and growled out, "What the hell!" he stood up and tightly clenched his fist in front of his face. "I may not know what the hell you're playing at, but I love Ishida! And nothing you do will change that!"

The way Ichigo was glaring at the man who had initiated the kiss made him slightly shiver, but not in fear. Regaining his upright posture, Ryūken pushed his glasses up and regained his usual stern look. "You say you _love_ Uryū? Don't you think that's a bit sudden?"

"To you, maybe, but not to me," Ichigo pointed his thumb to his heart. "Ishida found a special place in my heart and I found one in his, that's why we're perfect for each other."

The reply to his question made Ryūken's eyes widen for just a second before going back to their original cold, stern look. "I see." He walked back over to his desk and took a seat on his chair. This confused Ichigo as to what he was up to now. Propping his elbows on the desk and interlocking his fingers together, Ryūken eyed the Shinigami until he closed his eyes. "Whatever you do with Uryū is your own business. But," his eyes opened up with an increase of intensity, "I must admit I think I now know why Uryū found you… interesting." That being said, he opened a drawer and pulled out a piece of paper and pen. Writing down something quickly on the paper, Ryūken slid it in front of his desk. "Take this and leave. I have much work to do."

Ichigo was baffled at the gesture of the Quincy but he still reached for the piece of paper on the desk. Looking over at the white-haired man, Ichigo saw that he was looking over some paper work and his attention was no longer on him. Taking that as his cue, the redhead took his leave of the office. Once outside, he looked at the paper and saw the direction of Ryūken's home on it. _Well, I got what I wanted._ But before pocketing the paper an arrow that pointed to the back made him turn the paper around. Ichigo paled at what he saw. _He… he wrote down his cell number!_

He stood outside the door and it took him a few minutes before he finally realized something. _Ishida Ryūken is attracted to me! _Ichigo turned around and looked at the door. If he had x-ray vision, the Shinigami would probably see the Quincy with a smirk going across his face. _How the hell do I get myself into these things?_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry for the long wait. I had to take my father to the doctor and he wouldn't go for all that was good. Believe me, he's stubborn. Now that I'm in vacation I hope to write more since I'll be home more often. Hope this is good place to start off my vacation writing. The chapter is over 15 pages long so… enjoy.**

**Review Response:**

**Vivora: Thanks for the compliment! Hope you enjoy this!**

**yurifan: Thank you so much for the compliment and for you enjoying the scene! Family banter is so nice.**

**Substitute Quincy: Yeah, getting lost isn't great, but if you're hyped on energy drinks, you'll feel adrenaline all around! And thank you for the nice comment; it really makes my day when my sister is gaping at lovely things for her younger sibling. It's also nice that I can make people smile or laugh reading my fics so thumbs up for that! Also, I was hoping to add some good stuff in this chapter but decided to move to the **_**next**_** chapter. Hope that's okay?**

**Haddrell: I'm glad you love the longness of my chapters, it's usually why I take so long to update. Yup, who wouldn't want to scream out to everyone that they're going to have a kid! Though, Uryū is more subtle about his space than Ichigo and would need to understand that when he's ready, they'll both be ready. Thanks for the read of the chapter!**

**Reina De La Noche: My sister doesn't believe this, scream it a bit louder! Lol.**

**Dragon77: Thanks for enjoying the family banter between siblings and Uryū. Hopefully more to come so be prepared for more of that!**

**Nano: Thanks for enjoying the nice banter between siblings. Having siblings of my own makes it more easily to write out these kinds of scenes.**

**Gemini24: Thanks so much for the compliment, it's always nice and makes my day! Still not saying much on my OCs but there will be more. Not feeling different is good so don't worry about that. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Cammy: Thanks for enjoying the longness of the chapter. His father is an ass, but what can you do? Your theory is also interesting, nice input. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Mina Kye: Yup, Uryū is like the responsible one and needs to make limits in the household. He's slowly taking over like a good long lasting partner. Yeah, docs are freaky, especially when they touch you with their cold hands *shiver*. Neh, I got thrown worst things than a shoe, luckily she didn't want to throw her damn expensive high heels. **

**Quick Note: If it takes time for me to update another chapter… please know that my brother and I are… trying out the new Ghost Recon Soldier game so… yeah. **

**Please review. **


	33. Conflicted Emotions and Confused Ichigo

Conflicted Emotions and the Confused Ichigo

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><p>"<strong>You say you <strong>_**love**_**Uryū? Don't you think that's a bit sudden?"**

"**To you, maybe, but not to me," Ichigo pointed his thumb to his heart. "Ishida found a special place in my heart and I found one in his, that's why we're perfect for each other."**

Ryūken ran these words over in his head one more time as he took a generous sip of his tea. After Ichigo left the doctor alone to his own devices he found himself contemplate the conversation he had with the redhead, and the kiss that came out of nowhere. There really wasn't a reason or any hidden desire to do so; he just wanted to show that _love_ doesn't exist. Nothing more than a word filled with false emotions and false hope. For someone as strong as Ichigo, he expected him to at least know that nothing well ever comes from love.

Placing his cup down, Ryūken closed his eyes for a second and slowly licked his lips. A quick flash of something tingly and soft against his lips made him shiver for a moment until he re-opened his eyes and banished the thoughts quickly. A kiss is merely a kiss. Not some declaration of love or even affection. But that one kiss seemed to have made more of an impact on him than any other lip to lip contact. Possibly not even sex could compare to that single kiss. Strange that a younger man could entice these strange urges from the doctor. Ryūken has never been with anyone younger than him which made him slightly curious. If only for a second.

He though back to his wife, when life seemed a bit simpler. Even then he could remember showing his young born son _some_ affection, but his wife, his wife never entice him in any way possible. To him she was too plain, dull. It was a miracle that he was even able to have any intercourse with her, and it only took one time for her greatest desire to appear, though, for him it was something unexpected, very unexpected. The idea of even being a father never came up. Perhaps back then he was a bit rebellious with his decisions that he never stopped to think of the consequences of his actions. Soon, being a doctor seemed the way to go. He could finally begin a normal life and give up being a Quincy. The thought of his son acquiring these powers came up on his mind but he just placed it in the darkest corners of his mind until later. Yes, life did seem simpler back then. Too bad throughout his whole marriage he could never give his wife what she wanted. Love.

Even to his son he neglected that emotion from him, too. Being emotionless was just easier than giving and giving and never being able to take. He gave his son life, he ran away. He gave his son his Quincy powers back, he ran away. What was the point in giving if you never get anything in return? Love never got him to where he was today; a successful director of his own hospital which was widely known.

Yet, even after going through all this in his mind, Ryūken could not simply forget of that one kiss from the redhead. _Ichigo._ The word itself coming from his lips should disgust him, but it doesn't. Isshin, the father of the young, reckless man could not even bring out something like what his son could from him. He has had his fair share of lovers in the past but all expendable. Kurosaki Ichigo may have only given him a mere second of lip to lip contact with everything held back, but it was enough. Enough for Ryūken to finally decide it was time to _take_.

And take he will.

What could Uryū possible know about love if he was never shown this from anyone except his deceased father? That wasn't love; that was an old man trying to find a place in his son's life. Kurosaki Ichigo also claims to love Uryū, but that was something to be seen.

If this redhead could not stop plaguing his mind with his presence then he would have to see if Ichigo will use the little number behind the paper he gave him and give him a call. Ryūken could wait; a small lift of his lips as he thought about Ichigo, and placed his tips of his fingers on his lips, but his patience was limited.

* * *

><p>Ichigo walked around an unfamiliar neighborhood as he followed the directions of the piece of paper. It had taken him a good half hour to finally see where he was heading but yet he knew he was still a couple of minutes away to reach his destination.<p>

He took this time to rerun the scene back at the hospital with a certain white-haired Quincy. Ichigo shivered, but he placed it off as the wind just picking up. But even after rinsing his mouth off with water and rubbing the back of his hand over his lips continuously, the taste of the older Quincy just wouldn't come off.

It made him feel weird knowing that those lips kissed his father. Sick to his stomach that he quickly wanted to get through with this and return home so that he could ravish Uryū's lips and try to get the bitter taste off from his mouth. He then stopped mid-step and wondered what would happen if Uryū ever found out that he kissed _his_ father.

_Wait, I didn't kiss Ishida's dad, I was the kissed. That's a whole different situation. It was practically against my will! Ishida's dad must really be messed up in the head if he would even dare to do something like that. I mean isn't he with… my dad? _

"Tch, figures. That old man is just using my old man." Ichigo continued walking but with a deeper scowl than before. _But does my old man know that Ishida-san is using him? Ishida-san doesn't seem like the type to keep a relationship for a long period of time, but he also doesn't seem like the type to jump from one guy to the next. Right? And what's up with that kiss?_

"Agh! Why the hell did he do that?" Ichigo shoved his hands into his pockets and felt the small piece of paper inside. "Now because of that stupid… kiss… I don't know what to tell Ishida." _Could it be considered cheating? _He quickly shook his head from that thought. _Nah, Ishida-san was just messing with me. He just hates the fact that his son is loved and he's… alone, maybe. But if I hide something like this from Ishida, then it should be considered cheating. I can't keep something like this from him, but then what would he do? Would he blame me for it? Demand that I don't get to see my kid's… What? _

The Shinigami muttered under his breath, "Damn you Ishida-san." His hands balling up into fist inside his pockets, crushing the paper in his fist. _If something happens because of that stupid kiss, then I will personally see to the hell on earth for Ishida-san. I can't lose Ishida… I can't lose my kids. But I also can't lie. I'll explain everything to Ishida carefully and just wait and see what his reaction will be. All I really can do is hope._

_Stupid Ishida-san._

* * *

><p>Kenshin sat on his favorite chair with his legs crossed and turned another page from his book, a light small on his lips as he continued to read. After going through all the information his three men gave him from Soul Society, he knew that he needed to plan a bit more carefully. A Quincy is one thing, but a Shinigami is whole other thing.<p>

"Those who embody the cross live by their cross… that is God's rein. Pure and all salvation…" He closed his eyes and breathed in a clean, breath of air, deeply, slowly releasing from his nose with utter calmness that he has gain throughout the years that God has bestowed upon him. "Glad to see you, Kenji." He opened his eyes and before him was the brown-haired man with a scar over his left brown eye.

Kenji placed a hand on his hip as he looked at his leader. "Not like you didn't know I was coming, Kenshin-sama."

Kenshin let a small smirk appear in his face. "Indeed. But let us skip all the formalities and get to the reason you are here, shall we?" Kenji just shrugged and Kenshin took this as a confirmation to continue. "I am in need of your… abilities, Kenji. We both heard the reports from all of our fellow members."

Crossing his arms over his chest, Kenji eyed Kenshin. "You trust me enough to lend you my assistance?"

"Of course, I know you're not the traitor, Kenji, and I also know who the traitor is, but that's an issue for me to resolve at a later time." He waved his hand to show it's unimportance at the moment. "I need you to go to the Material World and… pay Kurosaki Ichigo a visit. I tire of waiting from those other two and I need some results," he narrowed his eyes at Kenji and the room seemed to have gone down a couple of degrees, "_now_."

Cracking his neck to the left, Kenji nodded. "Sure." As he turned to leave, he quickly stopped and turned his head back over to Kenshin. "Do I get to play with him or just let him be for awhile?"

Kenshin once again lifted his book up to his face and without looking at Kenji he said, "I believe he's in a… _relationship _with that Quincy. Let him be. I rather wonder myself what a broken man would do with no one to trust."

Kenji looked to the side and felt a grin begin to form on his face. He gave one last nod and continued on his way. _Now this is going to be interesting._

* * *

><p>Ichigo finally made it to his destination and looked at the mansion-like house and gave a low whistle. <em>Not bad, I guess.<em> He walked to the front door and as he was about to raise his fist to knock, the door opened with Isshin holding it open for his son.

"Ichigo, I see you came to pay your old man a visit!"

The redhead scowled at his dad. "I'm not here to play games, old man. I came to talk seriously with you."

Isshin let out a low chuckle and moved out of the way to let Ichigo in. "Yeah, Urahara said something like that." He led his son to the living room area where all of Ryūken's books were stored neatly in shelves. Taking a seat in a chair Isshin said, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

_Everything._ Ichigo shook his head for a bit and took a seat. _Okay, now I have my old man's attention, now what? Do I just come out and tell him… or do I start with something more relationship related. _Making a decision Ichigo took the first plunge into a conversation. "I was just wondering…"

The dark-haired man raised his eyebrows a bit.

"Are you and Ishida-san still in a relationship?"

Isshin frowned and crossed his arms over his chest, defensive. "And what does that have to do with anything? I thought you had something important to tell me, but if this is about Ryūken─"

"Can you trust him!" cut in Ichigo in a rush as he saw his dad get up. He also stood up and looked at his dad with piercing eyes.

Baffled a bit by Ichigo's outburst, Isshin opened his mouth to speak, but no words could come out. He felt stuck and wondered himself if he really truly trusted the Quincy. There were moments, but that was all they were, moments. Isshin tended to feel a bit… uncertain with Ryūken. The man was a complete enigma to him at times. When he thought he had the man figured out, he comes out with something different.

Ichigo could see the uncertainty from his dad and soften his scowl. "You don't, do you?"

"What does this have to do with anything, Ichigo? I have a right to do what I want with my life!" he began shouting since he felt something was wrong from the get go. Why did Ichigo care if he trusted Ryūken? He was his problem, no one else's. Isshin then ran a hand through his hair and saw his son get closer.

"I know it's none of my business, but Ishida-san isn't trust worthy, at least not in relationships." Ichigo licked his lips and ran his own hand through his spiky hair, but by licking his lips he caught his dad's attention as he set his eyes on the lips.

His son's lips looked a bit red for some reason and Isshin felt a million questions going through his mind. He narrowed his eyes at Ichigo and got a bit closer, to see if he could confirm something while distracting Ichigo with his questions. "And how would you know that? And how did you even get here?"

Ichigo narrowed his own eyes at Isshin and wondered why his dad was getting so close. "I went by Ishida-san's hospital─hey!"

Isshin reached out for Ichigo's shirt collar and pulled him nearer, sniffing his shirt. Then after smelling a familiar musky aroma that could only be described as Ryūken's cologne, Isshin quickly came to a startling conclusion. "Your red lips… the scent… Ichigo… you didn't…"

"Ah! Didn't what, old man, now let me go!" Ichigo fought to pull Isshin's fist loose but his dad kept holding to him tightly. His face was turning red from some rage and sense of betrayal from his son.

He shook Ichigo, now placing both his hands on his collar. "Tell me you didn't kiss Ryūken! Tell me, Ichigo!" shouted Isshin from the top of his lungs. Hoping that the conclusion that he came up with was a lie and waiting for his son to confirm this, hoping he confirmed this.

Ichigo furrowed his brow and was exerting his breath as he breathed in and out. He looked at how his dad resembled a wild beast and wondered if this was the way he was always going to get when Ryūken betrayed him, then if that was true, he would sacrifice himself to try and break their messed up relationship, for his dad. "You deserve better, dad," whispered Ichigo as he looked directly into Isshin's eyes, knowing perfectly well that he could decipher his encrypted message behind his words.

Releasing a breath Isshin didn't even know he was holding; he released his son and took a step back, betrayal shining in his eyes. "No. I deserved a better son." That being said, Isshin turned on his heel and quickly left the premises, no longer being able to stay in the same room with the man that went behind his back just to get to Ryūken.

Ichigo closed his eyes and wondered how something so insignificant could turn so catastrophic. He never thought that his dad held Ryūken in such height. If this was the way his dad reacted to _that _news, he didn't even want to think how he would react to the news of Uryū being pregnant.

_Uryū…_ He ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes in frustration. How would Uryū react to the fact that his lips were kissed by his _father_. It was mindboggling. The whole situation was unbelievable. Ichigo soon found himself wishing that he could just forget the whole damn thing, everything, if possible. Seeing as he had nothing else to do in Ryūken's house, he quickly made his way out. Escaping the cold nothingness of the so called home.

What Ichigo didn't realize was that he should have been careful what he wished for. It might just come true.

* * *

><p>As Kenji stood on top of a building overlooking the town of Karakura, he tipped his head back to stare up at the sky. "Well, time to search for Kurosaki Ichigo."<p>

Releasing a sigh, he closed his eyes and whispered, "_Wolf van heugenis._"

Out of nowhere a quick lightning strike slammed the pavement and smoke began to form where it struck. Out of the smoke a paw with sharp claws could be seen coming out, its bronze dark hair showing in the light with feral sharp teeth in the jaw. The beast growled for a second until he saw his master with his arms across his chest.

Kenji smirked at his pet. "Hm. Come on, we have a new prey to catch."

Both took off at the direction of a certain redhead at high speed.

* * *

><p>Walking down the same direction he came from, Ichigo looked miserable as his eyes were glued to the floor. Everything that occurred has finally taken its toll on him. His hands were lazily hanging from his pockets; his eyes were showing a hint of confusion and sadness. Ichigo didn't once look up to see that across from him stood a man with a savage looking beast at his side.<p>

Kenji had a smirk going across his face as his pet stood at his side, ready to pounce with his sharp claws out. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. You should really see where you're going, Shinigami."

Ichigo's eyes widen as he looked up and saw a man dressed in black with a ravaging beast right next to him. "Wha─who the hell are you? And how do you know I'm a Shinigami?"

Waggling his finger from side to side, Kenji said, "Asking the wrong questions at the wrong time, Shinigami. Oh well." He shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant way. "You'll soon be asking the right ones soon enough." Kenji uncrossed his arms and Ichigo quickly reached for his badge.

Realizing that he didn't have his badge on his person, Ichigo cursed and brought his gaze back at the smirking man. He balled his hands into tight fists and barred his teeth.

"Aw, not going to fight back," he quickly arched a brow, "too bad, this could have been fun." Kenji pointed his forefinger at Ichigo and said, "Fetch me his _memory_."

The beast barred its teeth and quickly took off at sonic speed. Ichigo had no time to see how to defend himself as he realized the wolf was about to attack him, claws and all. It was a strange feeling as Ichigo felt the beast go right through his body. He swore he could feel intense pain going through him, but as he looked down at his abdomen where the wolf struck, he could see no blood or any signs of damage.

_M-my body… Wha-what happ─_

Kenji watched as the boy had a stricken look on his face of confusion and watched as he pitifully fell to his knees and then backwards. Sprawled out like a man who has just been pulled the trigger. Shaking his head from side to side with disappointment, Kenji made his way over to the unconscious body of Ichigo. "Told you this could have been fun…" He squat down by his face and began to smirk. "Soon you will be asking the right questions, Shinigami."

Standing back up, Kenji began walking away, wolf at tow, and that smirk firmly in place.

_You'll soon feel the loss of so much as you walk a broken path of no return._

* * *

><p>Ryūken was organizing a couple of files until he heard the ring of his cell phone. Raising a brow in question, he slowly took it out and saw that the number was unrecognizable. Narrowing his eyes, he contemplated whether he should waste his time and answer some idiot or just go back to his job. The phone then stopped ringing and he placed it back in his pocket.<p>

Not a second later the phone began to ring again and Ryūken was beginning to get annoyed. _If this is a wrong number…_ He reached for his phone with an insult in mind and flipped his cell open.

"Do you have any idea who you are calling?" demanded Ryūken in his most stern and coldest tone ever. He waited patiently for the other person to respond, but when he didn't get one in return he simply concluded that whoever called him must have hanged up on him. Scowling, he was about to remove the phone from his ear before he heard a familiar voice from the other side of the phone. A very unsure voice.

"_Um… do you know who I am…"_

_Kurosaki Ichigo! _

Being the first thought in Ryūken's head as he held the phone close to his ear with a look of shock on his face.

* * *

><p>Back at the Kurosaki residence, a Quincy held a hand up to his chest and clenched it in his fist. He looked out from the window of Ichigo's room and had a bad feeling going up and down his spine.<p>

_Ichigo…_


End file.
